|TOP|Divorce rates across England and Wales have fallen to a new five-year low, the Office of National Statistics has revealed.

Falling to their lowest level since 2000, the number of divorces have decreased by eight percent over the past 12 months.

Figures showed that there were 141,750 divorces made in 2005, compared to the figure of 153,399 one year before in 2004, which is a 1.3 percent divorce rate among married people.

The released statistics also revealed that twenty percent of people getting divorced had already been involved in a marriage that had ended in divorce.

Sue Burridge, policy adviser for marriage and family on the Archbishops’ Council, welcomed the news.

|AD|She said: “The divorce rate has been fairly consistent for many years and dropping year by year, so we’re very pleased and celebrate this news as divorce is a very damaging experience, especially for children,” according to the Church of England newspaper.

“It is encouraging that those who commit to marriage seem to be working at it more.”

Burridge did however, urge caution when looking at the new statistics, as they had not included any details on relationship breakdowns for unmarried couples.

She said, “We need to be careful that, just because divorce rates are dropping it doesn’t mean people aren’t experiencing family breakdown.

“There are still many unmarried people living together and having children before breaking up.”

Various Christian groups are looking to help those in distress and in troubled marriages and relationships. Among the groups are Premier Christian Radio’s ‘Lifeline’, as well as Holy Trinity Brompton’s Family Life department.

“Lifeline receives calls from people of all ages about marriage and divorce everyday,” the manager of Premier Lifeline, Jonathan Clark, said previously.

He continued, “Some are looking to mend their marriages and are seeking advice. Others are looking for support as they go through a divorce or separation. I’d call on anyone going through or considering a divorce to contact Premier Lifeline. We are able to offer a listening ear, discuss any Christian issue on the subject and if needs be recommend an organisation or course to attend.”