Inside Number Forty: A night at Darlington's safe space

Number Forty can be found on Skinnergate in Darlington

Number Forty is open from 21:00 to 03:00 every Friday and Saturday as a safe space for people out and about in Darlington. The BBC joined its volunteers for a Saturday night shift.

The windows glow warmly on to the cold dark street, a beam of light casting out from the open door.

Beyond the frosted glass, volunteers Hannah, Katie and James sit in the lounge while security guard Jason stands by the entrance, all ready for whatever the night may bring.

Since opening in September, Number Forty has had more than 230 "incidents" - the catch-all term used to describe everything from people popping in to charge mobile phones to victims of crime and those in genuine crisis seeking help.

Their tales are always told discreetly, no names or identifying features, and when they laugh it is always done so with kindness.

The BBC joined security guard Jason and volunteers Hannah, Katie and James at Number Forty

They recall the various bodily fluids they have been confronted with, the humorous things inebriated visitors have said and the compassionate care they have had to give those in nightmarish situations.

Like the young man who came in after taking hundreds of tablets, or the woman who was dared by her friends to drink plant food.

"We get a lot of people who have been abandoned by their friends on a night out," Hannah says.

Katie adds: "Mental health is a big issue as well, we get people here who need help and we do what we can."

There was the woman who came in with a suitcase crammed with her possessions having fled what she was convinced was her haunted home, and the soldier from Catterick who had lost all his personal effects and friends on a night out and had nowhere else to go.

One night a woman came in with her teenage daughter just to show her that this was the place to go if ever she needed somewhere safe on a night out.

Number Forty has rubber clogs and flip-flops for party-weary feet

Number Forty was set up by Durham Police and Darlington Borough Council as part of the Safer Streets initiative, a nationwide drive to tackle violence against women.

Other towns and cities may have similar schemes, such as teams of people who walk the streets handing out help and bottles of water to worse-for-wear revellers, but this is a first for Darlington and one of the first such hubs in the North East.

Anyone is welcome at Number Forty, in particular those who feel vulnerable, unwell or have been a victim of crime.

Jason is there to protect those inside the centre, both volunteers and visitors, not to keep people out.

He says the first few hours are typically quiet with things getting livelier after midnight.

Katie is one of the 30 or so volunteers at Number Forty

While things are quiet Hannah shows me the store room where there are piles of rubber clogs and flip-flops for partied-out feet, anti-spiking kits and tests, bottles of water, woolly hats and plastic ponchos, whatever a visitor may need.

The first hour or two are spent standing outside, watching as people walk along Skinnergate to and from the various pubs, bars and restaurants in Darlington town centre on this cold but dry February night.

Shortly after 23:00, while we are watching the passers-by and listening to the thuds of music and shouts and laughter further down the street, a small car pulls up and a young woman gets out.

She approaches us and, holding up a phone showing a picture of her and another woman, asks if her wife has been in.

Hannah started volunteering after learning about Number Forty through her work at Durham Police

She is concerned, she says, as her wife went out with friends from work hours ago but has not been heard from her for several hours and her phone appears to be off.

The woman's worry seems to grow when we tell her no-one has been in yet, but Hannah and Katie, who during the day both work for Durham Police in a civilian capacity, are quick to offer reassurance.

Jason offers advice on which establishment such a group is likely to have gone to, Hannah takes down the woman's details in case her wife does arrive and tells her where she can find the police in the town centre.

The woman drives off and we hear no more about it again, a hopeful sign that all ended well.

Another lull allows me to talk to James, who is usually a sales manager for a timber company and a DJ.

James said he wanted to give back to Darlington

His clubbing days are over, he says, and now his sons are at an age where they are starting to go out.

"I just wanted to give something back to the town," he says about his decision to start volunteering.

There are about 30 volunteers who each give at least one night a month up to be at Number Forty.

Just after midnight Jade walks in.

She is in her early-30s, wearing ripped jeans and sparkly high-heeled shoes, and says she wants to charge her phone.

She has read about this place on Facebook, she says, and proceeds to settle herself down on one of the blue sofas as her phone charges.

"It's nice to have this here," she says, adding: "It's a real comfort, it feels like home already."

She wraps herself in one of the handmade blankets the centre has, and tells us about her life, her work, children and her husband.

Visitors are often given homemade blankets to keep themselves warm

Shortly after 01:00 GMT, the door bursts open and in staggers John.

He is in his early-30s, dressed all in grey, and he stands in the centre of the room, his body swaying slightly as his eyes roam around his well-lit surroundings.

There is a moment's silence, then suddenly he declares loudly, almost proudly: "I've had a bit to drink."

James leaps to his feet, takes John by the arm and gently lowers him on to one of the comfortable plastic chairs beside the window while Hannah fetches a bottle of water for the newcomer.

John and Jade start chatting and after finding out they both work at the same place, they go outside to share his last cigarette before returning to the Number Forty lounge.

Another woman in a purple dress and high heels hanging from her hand comes in to call a taxi, someone else to use the centre's toilet.

Anyone who feels vulnerable or unwell can go to Number Forty

At 02:30 Dan comes in, smartly dressed in a blue designer jacket and jeans.

He has been out with friends but has been turned away from a nightclub door by bouncers for being too drunk.

"To be honest I was relieved they wouldn't let me in as I'd had enough by then," he says with a laugh, sipping from a bottle of water.

He joins John and Jade, who has been out to get chips to share.

Dan uses the toilet, misses the bowl and insists on mopping it up, proceeding to clean the whole of the already pristinely kept bathroom.

As we near 03:00 and closing time, John and Dan head home after giving the volunteers reassurances they would be all right.

Number Forty is open from 21:00 to 03:00 every Friday and Saturday

Jade heads off in a taxi called by James.

She leaves a couple of pounds to "buy the volunteers some chocolate" and promises to share the post about Number 40 on Facebook.

"It's really good here," she says, adding: "I don't know what people would do without it."

The names of those visiting Number 40 have been changed.

If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, there is information and support available via the BBC Action Line.