VICTIMS who escaped violent and abusive relationships over the last four decades returned to thank Swindon Women’s Aid on their 40th anniversary last week.

A family fun day in Lydiard Park heralded the end of a week of celebrations, with Miss Wiltshire, Nicole Cox, joining director Olwen Kelly to cut the ribbon on the event.

The day aimed to cast a light on strong family units, and many former victims who had been supported out of their own abusive relationships came to enjoy the sunshine with new partners or children.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service were on hand, along with majorettes, stalls from various local organisations, and a dog grooming competition.

Olwen said: “This is the finale of a great week to celebrate our 40th anniversary, starting last Saturday with a charity ball at the Urban Village Resort hotel..

“There has also been an art exhibition at North Swindon library, with an artists’ perspective on domestic violence and on Saturday we had a survivors’ event at the refuge, with the idea those who have accessed the service over the last 40 years come along.

“We had women on that day who used us more than 30 years ago, and are in an immensely better place now.

“A lot of victims that come to us have endured horrible situations, but have had our support, got remarried in many cases, and now have strong, loving families, and quite a few of them are here today.

“That is fantastic to see, and we are expecting a few thousand through the doors today. A family fun day is a really nice way of ending the week and celebrating how a family unit should be, who are happy and have proper support for each other.”

Olwen added while major improvements have been made, including the rollout of disclosure scheme Claire’s Law from Wiltshire, more work needs to be done around education.

“We were one of the first refuges outside of London to set up in the 1970s, and before Swindon Women’s Aid, there was no domestic violence service in Swindon,”

she said.

“We have helped several thousand victims, female or male, and we will support people in same sex relationships, or people aged between 16 and 25.”