CHURCH volunteers are preparing to go out on the streets at night to help revellers in Wallingford.
Churches Together Wallingford decided to start a Street Pastors team after volunteers in Wantage celebrated their first anniversary.
Now they have gathered a team of about 20 volunteers and held an official launch at St Mary’s Church in Market Place on Monday.
The scheme, which is expected to go live in July after volunteers have been trained, has the support of Thames Valley Police, South Oxfordshire District Council and Wantage MP Ed Vaizey.
Neville Burt, 65, scheme coordinator and chairman of Churches Together Wallingford, said volunteers met organisers from the Ascension Trust, the governing body for street pastor schemes.
He said: “We have been given a grant of £3,000 from the district council and have had donations from churches in the town, so we now have raised £8,000.
“If there are girls out at night stumbling on their high heels we will be there to offer them flip-flops and our support. We hope to be a calming influence.”
Volunteers will initially work on Friday nights from 10pm to 2am.
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