Victim support workers believe fewer houses in Worthing and Littlehampton are being raided by burglars.

They drew the conclusion after dealing with fewer referrals from police over the past 12 months, which is in line with the continuing reduction in the number of homes being broken into.

Graham Hill highlighted the figures at the annual meeting of Worthing, Littlehampton and Districts Victim Support in the Gordon Room at Worthing Town Hall.

He said: "We offer our support to all victims of house burglary,and I am pleased to say referrals have gone down, in keeping with the continuing reduction in the number of houses being broken into.

"Burglary is an insidious crime and the impact upon the households cannot be overestimated.

"Increasingly, Victim Support is becoming aware of how burglary impacts on younger people in the home and is developing the service it is able to offer to youngsters in conjunction with their parents."

Mr Hill said both the Worthing and Littlehampton offices had dealt with victims of a large number of assaults during the year and volunteers had tried to contact each of them.

He said: "The levels of violence, whether arising from an incident in the town centre late at night, or possibly an incident between neighbours, remains high.

"Victims suffering more serious injuries may well qualify to claim compensation from the national compensation authority and Victim Support will take on that claim on victims' behalf on an absolutely free basis."

During the past year awards totalling almost £190,000 had been obtained for victims, although the authorities were now taking a harder line when determining cases.

Mr Hill said: "One particular type of violence where branches have increasingly been involved is that of domestic abuse.

"I say abuse because abuse of a partner, normally by a man on a woman, is much broader than violence alone.

"It may include psychological, emotional and financial abuse and will almost certainly have been ongoing for years before the victim takes the decision to do something about it."

Victim Support is supporting Operation Worth, which is introducing screening and support to victims who attend hospital as a result of abuse.

The organisation dealt with a combined total of 254 incidents of criminal damage to homes, such as youths kicking down garden fences, breaking windows or daubing graffiti.

Mr Hill said the impact of such crimes could be tremendous, leaving some elderly and vulnerable people feeling prisoners in their own homes.

This year had seen the introduction of community wardens in the Arun area who visit victims and patrol hotspots while developing relationships with some of the youngsters involved.

In some areas the level of petty damage had dropped significantly, an indication of the scheme's success.

Other specialist work undertaken by volunteers was supporting the families of murder victims, and the victims of rape, both male and female.

The offices in Worthing and Littlehampton had a total of 34 visiting volunteers, 22 at Worthing and 12 at Littlehampton, plus five volunteers on the branch committee.

Two long-standing volunteers had retired but seven new ones had been recruited and trained.

Between June 2002 and May 2003, Victim Support dealt with 2,406 crimes in Worthing and 1,397 in Littlehampton.

They included 574 burglaries in Worthing and 403 in Littlehampton; assaults 761/411; robbery 63/26; rape/serious sexual crime 31/21; murder 2/1, domestic abuse 259/169, racially motivated crime 43/24.