A charity has been awarded a four year contract with Kent Police worth £4 million to offer specialist support to victims of crime.

Victim Support, which has already been working in Kent and Medway, was awarded the new contract by Kent Police and crime commissioner Matthew Scott.

As part of the new contract, the charity has promised to offer a tailored service to help those affected by stalking and hate crime - whether it was reported to police or not.

Additional support to children and young people was also promised with an independent satisfaction survey to give feedback on the process' performance.

Mr Scott said: "Victim Support has always provided excellent help and advice, and now we can expand our service to provide even more bespoke support for victims of stalking and hate crime, as well as more help for children and young people.

"My recent inquiry into violence against women and girls recommended setting up an independent victim’s satisfaction survey and I am delighted this will now be offered to victims."

Area manager for Kent at Victim Support, David Naylor, said: “We’re thrilled that our services have been commissioned for another four years.

"This contract will allow us to grow our local support offering to include children and young people who have experienced crime, while also building on the success of our existing Hate Crime and Stalking Advocate services.

“As an independent charity, victims can access our services regardless of whether they have reported to the police or not.

"We look forward to working closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner, alongside other local support services, to delivering the best possible support for victims of crime."

The new contract will run for four years starting in April 2023. The charity will receive £1 million each year and there's a chance the contract could be extended further.

Support will be available to all victims regardless of age and gender and can even span to close relatives to those affected.

It will also provides support for those who may have experienced trauma, after witnessing a serious crime.

The charity can be contacted through its website or via the phone on 0808 168-9276 or 0808 168-9111.

Victim Support was named KentOnline's Charity of the Year 2019.