WOMEN staying at a Newport refuge have welcomed a new freephone helpline for people suffering domestic abuse.

And the most recent woman to move into the refuge told the Argus how the helpline was her saviour.

Kim* said her husband had abused her since they got married four years ago.

She said: "It was verbal abuse more than physical, but when I was heavily pregnant he slapped me and kept threatening me that I would be found hanging in the roof.

"I was abused in a previous relationship and nearly died, so I know how it escalates.

"When I went to see my GP, I was in the toilets and I saw the helpline number on the back of the door. You will never believe how much it helps. "I entered the number on my mobile phone, and that Friday morning I made one call and was out of the house four hours later."

Sonia* put up with 12 years of abuse from her husband through an arranged marriage because she felt so alone.

She said: "It started with shouting and swearing at me, even if I was in the street, and he would always shout at my kids.

"He was always saying, 'I'm going to kill you,' but when I told my mum she said I would have to die in the house and I was not to leave."

She finally called the police after her husband tried to strangle her. "Maybe I would have left sooner if I knew help was available," she said.

Jan* sought help after her husband tried to attack her with a machete. She said: "I didn't know about Women's Aid. I phoned the police, but was scared to say what happened. In the end I ran away and a social worker got me in the refuge."

* These women's names have been changed in the interests of the safety.