A victim of domestic abuse has died this year potentially because there was no suitable refuge support available for her when she needed it most, a north Powys charity has revealed.

Kate Annison, who runs the children’s service at Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre, says the charity is being put in an impossible position of having to make decisions that potentially could lead to loss of life.

MFCC, which is 40 years old this year, and supports families in towns such as Machynlleth and Llanidloes, has had to introduce a waiting list after referrals more than doubled between August and October compared to the same time in 2019.

"Making people wait even a short amount of time could mean that they get hurt really badly," Ms Annison said.

"Children are disclosing a lot of things that were happening over the previous lockdown or are still happening. There’s been a huge surge in cases.

"We’ve had to put six people on the waiting list for support so far - that’s four families. Making people wait even a short amount of time could mean that they get hurt really badly. These decisions we are making could ultimately result in a death."

She revealed that she was aware of a case where a family member died after being told there was no refuge space available for her.

"We know they tried a few different services in a few different areas but failed to find any suitable space," she explained. "Unfortunately, they then pulled out of trying to find somewhere and there was a fatality in that family.

“The victim approached us, but we did not have sufficient space in our refuge at the time.

"That victim was asking for support at the time they were able to, potentially when the perpetrator was not around. If we would have had the capacity as a nation to put them into refuge then, they could be safe now.”

MFCC, which has 19 employees, is committed to providing comprehensive services to those experiencing or affected by domestic abuse across North Powys, which covers the old county of Montgomeryshire.

Anyone who is experiencing domestic abuse, or is worried about someone, should contact MFCC on 01686 629114 or [email protected], or visit the website at www.familycrisis.co.uk