FRESH funding has been announced for rape alarms to be given out as "a comfort" for women in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said he was funding another 5,000 personal safety alarms after "the success of those distributed across the force area earlier this year".

As a part of a pledge to tackle violence against women, he said the rape alarms provided personal safety for potentially vulnerable individuals.

With the night time economy returning to some normality after the last 18 months, he said it was evident more needed to be done to ensure the community was safe.

The personal safety alarms had been distributed across the force area and Mr Campion said they would be handed out to partygoers.

"We need to keep our focus on the attitudes of predominantly men in our community who find it acceptable to perpetrate this unwanted and sometimes sexually violent behaviour towards predominantly women," he said.

"Until we can make this permanent change in society I continue to aim to support and protect those potential victims.

“I fully recognise and understand that these alarms will not solve the problem overnight.

"I hope those who receive the alarms never need to use them, providing them to people just in case offers a comfort should they ever be needed."

The personal safety alarms were recommended for self-protection and could act as a deterrent to potential offenders.