A TELEPHONE helpline offering support to women caught up in domestic violence has recruited doctors to help its service.

East Durham Women's Aid launched the line in July last year to reinforce the wide-ranging services provided by the district's women's refuge.

Specialist staff volunteered to provide a round-the-clock cover 365 days a year and in the first nine months they received calls from 330 women.

In March, Women's Aid workers teamed up with the East Durham Domestic Violence Forum to recruit the support of three general practitioners in Seaham, Murton and Peterlee.

They agreed to take part in a pilot scheme to include the helpline number on every prescription issued through their surgeries.

Since then, dozens of women, many of them older, have sought help in direct response to prescription advertising.

Dawn Trotter, chairman of the management team, said: "The appeal of the helpline is that it offers advice over the telephone to women who might otherwise shy away from any initial face-to-face contact.

"We were surprised and shocked by the large number of calls we received, but it confirmed what we knew, that there were women suffering violence and abuse in the home who need a safe way to access support."

The group is now hoping to extend the prescription scheme to another 12 practices across the district.

Women's Aid's annual meeting is at noon on September 4, at Seaton Holme, in Easington Village. The helpline number is 0191-586 3055.