Safe nights in Sutton

12.00.00am GMT Sat 8th Nov 2008

Sutton and Cheam MP, Paul Burstow, spent Halloween and payday out with the Sutton Street Pastors and Sutton Town Centre Police to see first hand what the High Street is like late a night.

Mr Burstow spent two hours with the Street Pastors between 10pm and Midnight. He joined Revd Mark Tomlinson who leads the Pastors as he spoke to young people queuing to get into Revolutions. The Pastors hand out free 'spikies' which plug into the top of bottles to stop drinks being spiked. They also hand out safety alarms and lollipops to break the ice.

At midnight Mr Burstow joined Sgt Andy Barnes for an hour. They visited the Chicago night club, meeting the Manager, and saw the new scanning system being used to check and record the ID of everyone entering the club.

Commenting Paul Burstow MP said:

"I was really impressed with the work the Street Pastors do. Their aim is to keep people safe and offer a listening ear. I have no doubt they make a real difference.

"Yes there were a lot of young people out and about in high spirits, but I'm sure the Pastors presence was a calming and reassuring one.

"The police have a difficult job to police the town centre, meeting everyone's expectations. The overwhelming majority of young people who come to the town are no trouble. High spirited, loud even, but not trouble makers and not violent.

"On what was a busy night for the town with payday and Halloween the high street was incident free, and it is great to see the police working with the Pastors and revellers to ensure that everyone has a safe and enjoyable night out."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Sutton Street Pastors now have a team of 34 people and are out in the High Street every Friday from 10pm to 3.30am and every other Saturday.