Abuse helpline expects 2016 calls to surpass 8k

A counselling service set up for victims of abuse is expecting to see the number of calls to its helpline surpass 8,000 this year.

With less than three weeks to go until the end of 2016, Connect Counselling predicts it will receive 8,078 calls for the year, 4% more than the 7,798 it received in 2015.

The volume of calls is in spite of the fact the service is only open for 20 hours per week between Wednesday and Sunday.