Youngsters from Highbridge’s Dreamscheme have been busy during their Half Term break this week distributing Halloween posters and crime prevention advice to homes in the town.
The children, aged from 8-14, spent four hours on Tuesday (October 26th) delivering hundreds of leaflets to houses in areas of Highbridge that have previously suffered incidents of anti-social behaviour and crime at Halloween.
The posters, designed by 12 year-old Rachel, can be displayed in windows if the home owners don’t want ‘Trick or Treat’ callers. The poster also includes advice on staying safe on the roads, in your home, in your car and when out and about at night.
The Dreamscheme, which last week won a major regional police award, was created in January 2009 by local PCSOs from Burnham Police Station and encourages young people to involve themselves in community activities, such as litter picking sessions and fundraising events, in return for points. When the children have accumulated enough points they are able to go on trips and days out.
After distributing nearly 800 leaflets, the children returned to Morland Community Hall to enjoy a well-deserved lunch. They were also visited by their local Police Press Officer who came to help them write their own press release about their morning’s endeavours.
“We really enjoyed ourselves this morning,” said 11 year-old Hope and 8 year-old Bethany. “We felt happy as we’d done something to help our community.”
14 year-old Bradley Day added: “It was good to help the elderly people who might be frightened by people knocking on the door.”
“We still carried on even though it was raining, as helping the community means a lot to us,” added Courtney and Amy.
PCSO Claire Finch, from Burnham Police Station, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The young people worked really hard today, and kept in good spirits despite the wet weather! We hope the local community use the young peoples’ advice positively to ensure they have a fun and safe Halloween. We appreciate any support the local community can give the scheme.”
The young people will adding to their points this Saturday by participating in a ‘litter picking’ session around Highbridge. The reward for their efforts will be a trip to Laser Quest.
If anyone would like more information about the scheme, wishes to volunteer or help fund the project, they can contact PCSO Finch on 0845 456 7000.
More details are available on the Dreamscheme website here.
