Thousands of free phonecards were handed to revellers in the south west over Christmas and the New Year as part of the Bristol Evening Post’s ClubSafe campaign.

A total of 10,000 cards are available and they all include five minutes of free talk time to any destination in the country.

Every time the cards – which are worth £1 each – are used the caller will be greeted with a 10-second personal safety message from Kerry Katona of the girl band Atomic Kitten.

Pc Polly Johnson, of Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s Crime Reduction Strategy Unit, said the latest initiative could save lives.

“It was in the early hours of Christmas Day, 1995, that 18-year-old Louise Smith was murdered as she walked home alone from a nightclub in Yate,” she said.

“If you ever needed an example of why these cards are so important then her case is it.

“Although you can call anywhere in the UK with these cards, the aim is that people will use them to call a taxi. As such the numbers of the six private hire firms which have signed up to ClubSafe are included on them.”

So far 18 clubs and late-night pubs have added their support to ClubSafe and from this weekend limited numbers of the cards will be handed out free of charge at the venues.

In addition officers at three Bristol police stations – Redland, Bridewell and Trinity Road – will be provided with a supply of the cards to distribute to vulnerable females.

TV presenter Michaela Strachan helped launch the cards, and said: “These are a fantastic idea. They are the same size as a credit card so can slip into any purse or pocket.

“What it means is that at the end of an evening you don’t need to fiddle around looking for change or the number of a taxi firm.”

The cost of the phone cards is largely being met by the sale of personal safety alarms through the ClubSafe campaign.

For every Godfather III-T flashing personal safety alarm bought, £1 goes into the ClubSafe coffers – and so far 4,500 have been sold.

ClubSafe was launched in August after the murders, within three years, of each other of Louise Smith and Jenny King, 22, as they walked home from local nightclubs.

The initiative aims to make it safer and easier for young women to get home after a night out thanks to a series of personal safety pledge by nightclubs and taxi firms.