‘God squad’ patrol for Preston trouble spots (From Preston and Leyland Citizen)

‘God squad’ patrol for Preston trouble spots

11:58am Thursday 4th September 2008 in News By Andrew Greaves

Groups of church-going volunteers will soon be patrolling troubled parts of Preston as part of a radical scheme which has proved a success in some of the UK’s biggest cities.

The Street Pastors scheme, which is already well established in places like Manchester and London, will see volunteers from all Christian denominations visit troubled areas of the city and offer support to those who need it.

Once trained, the volunteers will be sent into some of Preston’s most troubled spots including Meadow Street, Fletcher Road, New Hall Lane and Acregate Lane, where prostitution is a major problem. They will engage with sex workers, local residents, gang members and shopkeepers.

Pastor Chris Drury, of the Fulwood Free Methodist Church, has been working for the last year to set up the scheme.

He said: “I want to stress that these will be ordinary men and women wanting to help the city they live in because they care.

“This is not about doing the police’s job, it is about providing a caring response to people who need it. We don’t claim to have all the answers but there is a huge resource in Preston called the church and if we all work together then we could help to make a difference.

“It could be waiting for revellers to come out of a club and making sure girls get home safely or working with those affected by prostitution.”

The Street Pastors scheme started with 18 volunteers in inner London five years ago. There are currently around 1,000 volunteers at more than 50 projects across the country.

An open evening about the project is being held at the Fulwood Free Methodist Church at 7.30pm on September 25.

For more information, email preston@streetpastors.org.uk or log onto www.streetpastors.org.uk for details.