STRESSED-out bobbies are welcoming the chance to take advantage of six locally-based counsellors.

The new scheme, which is to replace the former one-man counselling service based at police headquarters in Hutton, will provide advice to the county's force about various problems -including stress, relationships, emotional, alcohol abuse and financial troubles.

Lancashire Police's new welfare officer, psychologist Vanessa Openshaw has already filled one of the six counselling posts and hopes to have the scheme up and running soon.

She said: "We are recruiting a counsellor for each division who is able to give advice on various problems.There is a macho culture in the force, which means many officers find it difficult to admit they are having difficulties.

"There is a desperate need for expert counsellors. There are 5,000 staff in the Lancashire Police Force and, as I have been the only counsellor for more than a year, it has been very difficult to give everybody a fair chance of seeking advice."

The Citizen spoke to one police officer who has used the welfare counselling service in the past.

She said the new scheme was "a marvellous idea" and explained counselling helped her cope with a particularly difficult time.

She said: "I was working nights when I found out my partner was seeing other women while I was on my shifts.When I confronted him he left, leaving a trail of debts behind him, and it turned my life upside down.

"But the welfare service gave me emotional support, legal advice and even helped me pay off my debts. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to cope. I was devastated."

She added: "The great thing about the counsellors is that they are always contactable, no matter what time of day or night it is.

"Police officers face so many problems due to working unsociable and sometimes incredibly long hours, eating when and where they can, having to deal with emotionally-draining incidents every day and coping with the pressures put on them from the public - who seem to think of us as super-human.

"However, we are human, and have to cope with the same problems as everyone else, while solving other people's. The first step is admitting you need help - the next is receiving counselling."

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