In Accrington, Lancashire County and Hyndburn councils, police, St John’s Ambulance and the retailer ASDA have launched a scheme to keep people safe on nights out.
The Nightsafe Haven is a multi-agency initiative to offer support to anyone who may need help or assistance on nights out in the lead-up to the Christmas and New Year, and will run every Saturday in December (December 7, 14, 21 and 28), as well as on Friday, December 20, and New Year’s Eve.
An events van in a flood-lit central area on Church Street with purpose-built display barriers will be run between 10:30pm and 3am, offering free water provided by ASDA, and medical assistance from St Johns Ambulance volunteers. During the party season in the run-up to Christmas and New Year, the Haven is intended to act as a safe space, giving party-goers a place to rest and recuperate, and help to ensure everyone gets home safely from the town centre.
As part of the preparations for the Christmas and New Year period, Accrington Police and Trading Standards will also be visiting every licensed premise within the town centre. Plain clothes officers will also be patrolling the town centre’s pubs, bars and clubs to identify and quell trouble before it escalates.
Insp Catherine Platt of Accrington Police said; “The Christmas and New Year period is understandably a particularly busy party period for us all. Therefore, we have partnered with Lancashire County Council Trading Standards and Hyndburn Council to provide the Nightsafe Haven service to ensure everyone has a happy and enjoyable time this month.
“We want everyone to have both a safe and enjoyable time this Christmas and New Year, and the Nightsafe Haven is one of the methods we will be using to help ensure this happens.”
County Councillor Janice Hanson, Lancashire County Council cabinet member for public protection, said: “Our Trading Standards officers work with managers of pubs and clubs to ensure their staff are well equipped to serve alcohol responsibly and refuse underage sales. Well-managed venues can make a real difference to everyone’s safety and the health of the night-time economy, and we’ll be working with the police to support licensed premises throughout this operation.”
