Safety wristbands given to female runners
BBCMore than 1,000 safety wristbands have been given to women in running groups in North Devon, funded by money seized by police from criminal activities.
The wristbands feature a personal alarm designed to attract attention in an emergency.
Ilfracombe Running Club applied for funding for the devices, with leaders saying it was partly because of the district being "remote... and a lot of vulnerable ladies running on their own at night."
Insp Joey Lester, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "Sadly, being a female you do fear crime and being attacked. The reality is we have very low stranger attacks on lone females but that doesn't make it any less important because one victim is one too many."
Debby Burnside, 61, from Ilfracombe, said the wristband had given her some peace of mind knowing she could draw attention if she injured herself on a path, or if she was attacked.
She said: "Obviously I feel vulnerable when I'm on my own because who knows what's going happen. You never really 100% know if you'll injure yourself or if there's someone lurking that shouldn't be."
She added that, when she was younger, she was assaulted while riding her bike up a mountain in Portugal.
She said: "Having experienced something like that, you know how vulnerable you can be and, because I'm so small, I present as a easy target."
Research has found 68% of women have experienced abuse while running, but only 5% reported it, according to the N8 Policing Research Partnership, which links police forces with universities.
Sport England and the national campaign to promote female exercise This Girl Can also found a lack of light in winter meant 72% of women in the UK changed exercising habits due to safety fears.
Mel Hickles, 57, from Ilfracombe, said she had experienced abuse while running and it had forced her to change route or cut her run short.
She said: "People call out things from their car window as I have been running along and it's made me feel scared."
Chris Burley, from the Ilfracombe Running Club, applied Police for the wristband funding.
"I decided we should cover the whole of North Devon, with it being such a remote area and a lot of vulnerable ladies running on their own at night," he said.
The club was allocated nearly £3,000 through Devon & Cornwall Police's POCA (Proceeds of Crime Act) fund, which redistributes money seized from criminal activity to support projects that prevent crime and improve safety.
It was enough to buy 1,050 devices.
Insp Lester said: "If we can do something to make people feel safer and more secure, then that's such a good outcome from us."
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line.
