FOREIGN students are being given havens across Southampton where they can run for help if in trouble.

A dozen shops and restaurants in the city centre have been identified as potential help points for any student in need.

Student Safe Southampton, the first scheme of its kind in the UK, will provide crucial safety advice for international students studying or living in the city.

Every foreign student arriving in Southampton will be provided with a map showing designated havens where they can go if they are being followed, harassed, are lost or have other concerns.

Staff at each haven - ranging from burger bars to a book shop - will be fully briefed to take any student into a quiet room and summon help, calling the police where necessary.

Each map has detailed safety advice on the back, reminding students to stick to well-lit roads, keep cash and valuables out of sight and use only pre-booked taxis.

The pocket-sized publication also warns about the danger of date rape and explains what a student should do if she believes she is being followed.

Police and higher education chiefs are hoping the pioneering initiative will make foreign students less vulnerable on the city streets, as well as encouraging them to report crime.

The project is the brainchild of South-ampton police's higher education liaison officer, PC Steve Mullins, who visited similar schemes in Sussex, Cambridgeshire and Avon and Somerset.

Although other areas have havens for youngsters aged 11 to 16, Southampton is the first to have a scheme for those in higher education.

PC Mullins, based at Portswood police station, said: "It will increase the number of students who return home safely with good memories of a rewarding stay."

The scheme involves police, the University of Southampton, Southampton Institute, Southampton City College, Taunton's College, Southampton City Council, the city centre manager, local language schools and various shops and businesses.