A councillor who suffered years of abuse from a partner has spoken of her trauma at a protest against cuts to a revolutionary domestic violence service.

Councillor Toni Letts, 62, spoke for the first time about the violence she suffered more than 30 years ago after Croydon Council announced a £96,000 cut from its budget for the Family Justice Centre (FJC).

The news saw protestors stage a rally outside the Park Lane centre on Thursday March but Croydon Council explained the drop in funding will be made up until 2015 by a grant directly from central government.

Coun Letts, who represents Fairfield ward, said: "When I was going through my own trauma I was running a business coping with the demands of that and dealing with this from day to day. It takes over every part of your life."

She explained the abuse, physical and verbal, went on for years before she acted.

She said: "I always felt it was my fault, a sign of something wrong with me.

"I was getting involved in the Greater London Council and speaking to someone who recommended I go to a women’s meeting. It was like a light bulb went off that I didn’t have to put up with this. I went home and packed that night.

"I was lucky but it was a huge decision to make. That is why the FJC is so important, it gives women the support to admit there is a problem, and the help they need."

Established in 2005 as a revolutionary way of supporting the victims of domestic violence, the FJC combines counselling and support, help finding new housing and a police presence to report the crime, all within the same building.

It was the first of its kind in Europe and has been the subject of visits from delegations from around the world.

The centre has also been hit with the knowledge a founder, and leading authority in the field, centre manager Jill Maddison, is leaving.

This follows on from the decision by Croydon police to move all their officers out of the centre and deal with both offenders and victims reporting crime at a new custody suite in Windmill Road South Croydon. Deva Ponnoosami, a fellow founding member, said: "You go anywhere around the world, everyone knows Jill Maddison. It is a huge loss for Croydon, and everything should have been done to keep her.

"Having victims in the same location as their attackers will destroy what makes the FJC a safe place for women to visit."

From helping 3000 people in its first ten months, The FJC now sees more than 1,000 clients a month, including women, children and men.

Cllr Letts said: "Croydon has the highest reported rate of domestic violence in London. There are 117 women and 64 children on the waiting list. This is a huge mistake."

Coun Simon Hoar, cabinet member for community safety said: "There is to be no reduction in funding. In fact, an extra £30,000 is being put into the centre over the next 12 months to help women and girls who have been victims of violence.

"Political scaremongering like this could bring real danger to any victim who hears it. If they decide not to contact the Family Justice Centre because they think it's closing, they may not get the help they need.

"I hope people will recognise the reality of the situation and not be fooled by the political scaremongering that owes more to the fact that there is an impending mayoral election than any council policy."