THE Bere Ferrers peninsula’s new borough councillor is putting her best foot forward this month to raise money for a charity helping victims of domestic abuse.

Angela Blackman, who was elected in November, is pulling on her walking boots and together with her cocker spaniel Pippin, she is notching up 56 miles over the month through her daily walks near her home on the Bere Peninsula.

She has set herself the challenge of raising £150 for the charity Refuge, which provides practical help and support for women and children affected by domestic abuse.

On any given day, Refuge supports 7,000 women and children. Just £10 could provide a woman arriving at a refuge with the support she needs for her first night and £52 would pay for a night’s stay in a refuge. Angela said she wanted to do as much as possible to raise awareness of how prevalent domestic abuse is in rural areas like West Devon just as much as inner cities.

‘I have been talking to the organisation Splitz. They work locally with the police and local authorities on various different aspects of domestic abuse, with people when their lives are in danger but also where there is long-term abuse through through domestic control or coercion.

‘With this being a rural community, people feel that it is less likely to be happening, but this just isn’t the case at all.’

Angela is currently studying a distance learning course on spotting the signs of domestic abuse. She said it had really opened her eyes to the scale of the problem, with the statistics indicating that things had got worse during the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Just looking at the research through studying for this course, the statistics are unbelievable,’ she said. ‘There’s a common misconception that it affects only low income families, which isn’t the case either.’

The fundraiser for Refuge is being run throughout February, with the option of walking 56 miles in several longer walks or splitting those miles up into a shorter daily walk. ‘I have chosen to do two miles a day, said Angela. ‘As I work full-time and have a teenage son and duties as a borough councillor it is not easy to fit it in, but the dog makes me do it.

‘ I would like to raise £150 for the charity. I have had some experience of domestic abuse through family, not myself, and that is why I’m keen to raise awareness that there so much help available if they need it.’ To support Cllr Angela Blackman, visit her Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/angela-blackman2.

Refuge’s National Domesetic Abuse Helpline is open 24 hours a day, freephone 0808 2000 247.