Trouble brewing

Street pastors have raised concern about the impact on teenagers if Southwell’s youth centre is closed.

Street pastors are Christian volunteers who go out into the town on Friday nights to help people who may have had too much to drink.

Mr Michael Martin, pastor of the Living Waters Church and one of of the founders of the street pastors scheme in the town, said around 20 young people attend the centre and if it closed they would have nowhere to go.

Nottinghamshire County Council is considering closing it as part of efforts to save £154m over three years after its government grant was cut.

Mr Martin said: “We have noticed over these past 12 months how the youth centre has been building relationships with the young people. If it is closed they will be put out on the streets.

“It’s a brilliant facility for the town.”

Mr Martin said street pastors mainly focused on the War Memorial Recreation Ground and town centre helping young people, whereas colleagues in Newark tended to assist drunken revellers coming out of the town’s bars and pubs.

He said: “We are very well received by the public. We get a lot of good comments about why we are out there and what we are doing.

“We are there to care for the whole of the night-time economy but in Southwell that is mainly to do with young people.

“There isn’t as much of a problem as there was. Some–times we can go out and see a dozen young people but at the end of term it can be 70 or 80 or at the end of the school year 200 or 300.”

Mr Martin said the street pastors had received support from Southwell’s county councillor Mr Bruce Laughton who joined them for a patrol on Friday.

Mr Laughton said the group was a valuable asset and supported their concerns about the closure of the youth centre.

He said: “The street pastors told me the number of alcohol bottles they have been picking up has reduced over the last 18 months to two years, which corresponds with an increase in people using the youth centre.

“There is no doubt that if we don’t provide youth services there will be an increase in youngsters hanging about with no direction.”

Mr Martin said the street pastors were looking for more Christian men to join the patrol in Southwell.

Anyone interested should contact him on 07919 550638.