Church volunteers to help revellers
UNIFORMED church volunteers are to patrol Lancaster city centre offering help to worse-for-wear revellers.
A team of "street pastors" is being assembled after the inter-denominational scheme, first pioneered in London five years ago, met with success in other areas.
In Lancaster 15 local churchgoers have already volunteered for the project and will receive training before beginning work in August when they will initially patrol between 10pm and 4am on either a Friday or Saturday.
The scheme is being spearheaded by the Ascension Trust, a charity which encourages Christians to work within communities.
The volunteers, who have the backing of police, will wear
baseball caps and a blue jacket bearing the words 'Street Pastor'.
Their work could include looking after drunken revellers, helping people into taxis, clearing up glass, providing blankets and administering first aid.
They will be wired into the community radio system meaning they can communicate with pub door staff and contact CCTV operators or police if trouble flares.
Scheme co-ordinator, Steve Bland, 45, said revellers in other areas with street pastors, which include Blackpool, Manchester and Wrexham, had been grateful for the help.
"It is an example of the church being back on the streets helping people in need," said Mr Bland of Father's House, which meets in Barton Road, Scotforth and is part of the Elim Pentecostal Church.
"We can make sure vulnerable people, particularly women, are safe when they come out of clubs.
"One of the things pastors have done is to provide slip-on shoes for girls who have taken off their heels and are in danger of cutting their feet on glass."
Mr Bland, of Foss Court, Morecambe, said drugs and knives had been handed into street pastors in other areas and that crime had fallen.
"We're not the police but we can help calm a situation down where a police uniform might draw a crowd and antagonise a situation," he said.
"If something gets out of hand we would step back, call for back-up, inform CCTV and maybe pray for those involved."
Mr Bland said the aim was not to recruit new church members but added: "Lancaster is quite a small place so it could be that we get to know people and their eyes could be opened to the church."
Insp Steve Anderton, of Lancaster Police, said: "This has been successful in other areas of the country and will deal with some of the lower level issues but the pastors won't be asked to get involved in any serious anti-social behaviour.
"It will certainly assist the police operation and free up officer time to deal with other more urgent issues."
Chair of Lancaster Pub Watch and licensee at The Sugar House, Louise Davies, said: "I'm all for tackling the problem of people getting into this sort of state in the first place because prevention is better than cure.
"We're working towards not having people lying in the streets and struggling to get home but there does need to be some form of clean up operation and I'll be in support of anybody able to help towards that.
The street pastors will be funded by the individuals and their churches, which in Lancaster include The Priory, Christians Alive, Lancaster Methodist Church and Caton Baptist Church.
They will receive training from the Ascension Trust, police and other agencies before starting work.
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Weather for Lancaster
Friday 25 May 2012
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