Street pastor service celebrates 13th anniversary

The pastors go out from late on Saturday nights to early on Sunday mornings

A street pastor service set up in 2011 is celebrating its 13th year of supporting people in need around Telford town centre at night.

Vicki Brain, from Shropshire's Telford Street Pastors, said it was a belated celebration because the 10th anniversary was during the pandemic and they had not marked it until now.

Three more pastors are being commissioned on Friday.

“I think it has made a tremendous difference,” she said.

She said: “We go out Saturday nights into Telford town centre but also Wellington and also Newport, anywhere in Telford & Wrekin.”

“We’re chatting to people, just being friendly to people, but all the time we’re watching out for anybody who needs any help.

“That could be because say they’ve had too much to drink, or they’ve lost their friends, or they’re staying at a hotel in Telford and they can’t remember which one they’ve got to go back to - all sorts of things that happen at that time of night.

“Sometimes, [it’s] just talking to people who need to unburden about problems in their lives.”

In the past, the group has helped to tackle child sexual exploitation, following a grooming scandal in Telford that saw seven men jailed in 2012.

The group had also helped to reduce anti-social behaviour, Ms Brain said.

She said: “We’re definitely not the police. We’re not there to get people into trouble or discipline them in any way whatsoever, but I think it’s just that sort of influence. It does tend to modify behaviour.”

She said they were always looking for more volunteers.