Street Pastors scheme to help Birkenhead boozers

Mar 28 2012 by Helen Hunt, Heswall News

WIRRAL clubbers worse for drink will be able to benefit from a new service that helps those in need.

The Street Pastors scheme has already seen women in Liverpool with horrendously high heels benefit from free flip-flops and the inebriated find a safe way home.

Now the scheme has expanded into Wirral and a batch of Street Pastors will be patrolling Birkenhead on Friday nights between 11pm and 4am.

The Pastors will be talking to people on the street during the night-time economy, providing assistance to members of the public, handing out free flip-flops to women who have removed their shoes, picking up bottles and glasses, sweeping up broken glass and providing support to people who are lost and need assistance to a taxi.

Organisers of the interdenominational scheme say their role is to purely provide a caring service and be available to anyone who requires it.

Mark Latham, who is responsible for fundraising and marketing of the Birkenhead Street Pastor Initiative, said the scheme first ran as a pilot in December.

He said: “Since we started early in December we have built up some really good connections with club owners, door staff, food outlets and police who have all thought it to be a really good idea.

“The general public has also given us positive feedback who think it is a good idea.

“It’s amazing how easy it is to connect with people by just passing out free flip flops. We have had several incidents where young vulnerable women have required specific assistance and we have been able to walk them home, provide space blankets for warmth or walk to the nearest taxi vendor. Most recently last Friday myself and colleague witnessed a drunken man who was about to get into his car and drive home, and we convinced him that it probably wasn’t the best course of action and walked him to a taxi.”

There are 19 volunteers working in Birkenhead but more volunteers are being sought so they can expand the scheme in Birkenhead to include Saturday nights.

A recruitment drive will be held in the next couple of months.

Visit www.wirralstreetpastors.co.uk for more.