FLOWER petals will be scattered into the River Tavy on Monday to mark the thousands of incidents of domestic violence reported in Devon every year.

The ceremony is being held as part of National Domestic Violence Week to raise the profile of the crime, the work that is carried out to try and prevent it, and the help offered to survivors affected by it.

West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett will lead the event at Bedford Bridge in Tavistock on Monday November 22.

As Mr Burnett calls out a series of statistics surrounding domestic violence, a survivor will scatter 8,100 flower petals into the river ? each petal representing every reported incident of domestic violence in Devon last year.

Nationally, three women die every week as a result of domestic violence and the crime costs Devon an estimated £26-million every year. Experts believe that just one in five cases of domestic violence is actually reported to the police and many incidents go unrecognised.

The river ceremony is being organised by the West Devon Domestic Violence Forum, part of the West Devon Community Safety Partnership, which plays a leading role in the borough to bring a co-ordinated approach to tackle crime and disorder.

Domestic violence is a key priority area that the partnership has targeted in its strategy to tackle crime.

West Devon Borough Cllr Peter Hill, who is chairman of the West Devon Community Safety Partnership, said the ceremony would be a poignant symbol for a crime that so often goes unrecorded.

He said: ?The partnership is doing everything in its power to tackle domestic violence and it?s so important that we raise its profile within communities and offer as much help as we can to those that need it.?

West Devon has its own outreach link to provide confidential help and advice for women affected by domestic violence. The project was set up just over four years ago through funding secured by the Community Safety Partnership.

On average, volunteers at the outreach receive around 50 calls every month to its helpline 01837 55228. During Domestic Violence Week and the week following (Nov 2 -Dec 3), the outreach helpline hours will be extended by an extra three hours a day from noon to 6pm.