A DORSET charity which helps rebuild the lives of families shattered by child sex abuse says more funding must be given to support victims and their parents - after it was revealed tens of thousands of public cash is being used to help paedophiles and sex offenders.

As reported in yesterday’s Echo, more than £20,000 from the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) office and the county’s probation service has been donated to a controversial scheme which aims to help “rehabilitate” offenders after they have been released from prison.

A mother whose two children were abused by their stepfather described the revelation as a “huge slap in the face” and the money should be used to help victims instead.

The Dorset-based charity ACTS FAST, which supports the parents and carers of victims of sexual abuse, has now called for “equal funding”.

The charity, which was launched last year, recently received a grant for £1,500 from the PCC's office via the Victims’ Fund.

Circles South West, which supports paedophiles and offenders rehabilitate after life behind bars, has been allocated £11,000 from the PCC’s office and a further £11,000 from the probation service.

Mandy Gulliver, co-founder of ACTS FAST (Abused Children Trauma Support Family Advice and Strategy Team), said: “When it comes to offenders we do feel there needs to be a holistic approach however there needs to be equal resources for victims and their families to access services.”

Since the charity launched last year it has established a phone and text support line for victims' parents and carers and hosts drop-in sessions for families trying to rebuild their lives after a disclosure has been made.

Ms Gulliver said the charity would be able to expand the services it can offer if it had more funding.

She said: “We are getting referrals from various different people but we need to get more staff on board and we need more funding to be able to provide these services.

“£11,000 would be fundamental for us. It would mean we would be able to put our services out there fully so parents and families can be supported. It would make a huge difference.”

Circles South West claims the scheme results in a 70 percent reduction in reconviction rates.

Speaking about the donation to the Circles, PCC Martyn Underhill, who has campaigned for the rights of abuse victims and is a patron of ACTS FAST, said: "This is absolutely not about pandering to sex offenders or offering them tea and sympathy. It's about doing all we can to manage risk to the very best of our ability."

Fore more details about ACTS FAST go to actsfast.org.uk.