A charity dedicated to helping the victims of crime is looking for new volunteers in the Bromsgrove area.

Victim Support Worcestershire offers help, support and guidance to people whose lives have been blighted by crime.

The charity believes victims of crime and their families are often given scant regard by the authorities compared to the criminals themselves.

Volunteers may have to work with people who have been the victims of theft, assault, burglary, robbery, child abuse, rape, manslaughter or even murder.

Area manager Tony Breeze said: "We are looking for adult volunteers of all ages and would particularly welcome recruits from ethnic backgrounds. Our recruit training course allows individuals to transfer their existing life skills to help crime victims.

"Our current team finds the work both interesting and rewarding," he added.

Manager Caron Cook, whose role is to give back up to the volunteers, said: "Most Victim Support work comes via the local police. I then allocate the referral to a suitable volunteer and support them while they work with the victim." The initial training course takes five days, thereafter there are periodic training sessions both at local and regional level.

Victim Support is staging a weekday training course in Worcester from March 14-18 and a Saturday course for May/June.

All travel and subsistence costs are paid while training and visiting victims.

Tony added: "If anyone is interested in becoming a volunteer, they should ring Caron on 01527 66462 for an informal chat."

For further details log on to www.vs-worcestershire.org