Victims of sexual violence have an alternative service to turn to, separate from the police, for evidential examinations.

Since Monday (1 January) Willow House, which is part of Guernsey's Sexual Assault Referral Centre, has been able to offer forensic medical examinations.

Manager Charlie Cox says these can be performed by any of the eight fully-trained nurses, and the service operates 24 hours a day:

"The forensic examinations are a chance to collect any evidence that might have occurred as a result of what’s happened.

For example, samples could be taken from body parts where there might have been some sort of contact.

But they are also a chance to check the persons' well-being and to make sure that they are doing okay."

She says the team aims to support victims and secure more convictions:

"The best evidence that we could get would be someone's DNA on the victim.

It’s obviously not the be-all and end-all of every single case, but it certainly does help to have forensic evidence."

The Sexual Offence Examiners have received training from a UK provider and visited SARCs across the UK.

The service can be contacted on 01481 227 700.