Author: Beth Rogers

This article is written as part of a series of posts about the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign

Take a look at some of the people who are working tirelessly to make sure that your night in Wrexham is a safe one.

Street Pastors 

Providing a reassuring presence, street pastors listen to and talk with people, provide information on local agencies and aim to discourage anti-social behaviour.
Practical help provided by street pastors include handing out blankets, giving flip flops to clubbers unable to walk home in their high heeled footwear, giving out water, chocolate or sweets for energy and ensuring the safety of anyone feeling vulnerable. Street pastors remove bottles and other potential weapons from the streets, in order to discourage violence and vandalism.

Michelle McBurnie

Hafan Y Dref is Wrexham’s Welfare Centre and is staffed by British Red Cross volunteers. It offers a safe place for people feeling vulnerable or unwell on a night out in town.
Michelle McBurnie is one of the British Red Cross support officers who works at the centre. The centre offers a triage-service and immediate first aid if you’re injured or suffering from too much to drink.The volunteers also offer emotional and practical support if you’re feeling vulnerable. What’s more, they don’t pass judgement. If you need help, they just help you. You can find the Welfare Centre in part of the toilet block at the bottom of Town Hill – opposite the nightclub called South. So it is easy to find.

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Alex Jones owner of the Bank, Voodoo Moon and South

The Bank won the overall Best Bar Bone award. Best Bar None is a national scheme aimed at reducing alcohol related incidents and violence in the UK by raising the standards of licensed premises and building positive relationships with business regulators. Premises can achieve bronze, silver and gold awards.
The premises can display the Best Bar None award either outside or inside the premises which will then identify the licensees as responsible operators who value their customers and want to provide a safe night out.

Chris Harland and Stephanie Connelly at the Nags Head

The Nags Head won Best Pub in the Best Bar None Awards. In Wrexham 22 of the 28 licensed premises took part in the Best Bar None scheme.
Licensees and door supervisors have participated in training reminding them that it is illegal to serve to clearly drunk people and raising awareness of how vulnerable people can be, to becoming victims of theft or violence if they drink too much.

Police Officers

The Night Time Economy in Wrexham does not provide an environment which supports, encourages or allows drunken behaviour. North Wales Police are working hard to reduce alcohol related violence/sexual assaults and ensure everyone has a great, safe night out.

Door Staff

Door staff work with all the partners to ensure that Wrexham is a safe and enjoyable place to have a night out. The work closely with volunteers at the Welfare Centre and Street Pastors to help people who may have had too much to drink. They also help to enforce the law by not allowing people who are too drunk entry into licensed premises.

Wrexham Council has joined with North Wales Police, Public Health Wales, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), the Area Planning Board, Glyndwr University and Coleg Cambria to deliver the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign. If you would like to read more about the campaign and how all of the partners are working together click here.

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This article is written as part of a series of posts about the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign

Have you been on a night out in Wrexham and noticed people in blue uniforms handing out flip flops and sweets? These are Wrexham’s street pastors and they are volunteers who want to make our streets a safer place for a night out.

They are trained volunteers from local churches that care about the local community. All street pastors will have completed 12 training sessions spread over a year covering subjects including conflict management, counselling and basic first aid.

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Practical Help

Providing a reassuring presence, street pastors listen to and talk with people, provide information on local agencies and aim to discourage anti-social behaviour.

Practical help provided by street pastors include handing out blankets, giving flip flops to clubbers unable to walk home in their high heeled footwear, giving out water, chocolate or sweets for energy and ensuring the safety of anyone feeling vulnerable. Street pastors remove bottles and other potential weapons from the streets, in order to discourage violence and vandalism.

Working in Partnership

They are led by a local coordinator and have support from local churches and community groups in partnership with WCBC, NW Police, CCTV staff, Door staff/Security, Paramedics, Welfare Centre and Red Cross Volunteers.

There are a total of 36 street pastors in Wrexham and they operate every Saturday night from 10.30pm until around 3am as well as every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month.

Want to volunteer?

Currently over 300 towns and cities across the UK have a street pastors team. There are also a growing number of street pastor teams overseas.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Street Pastors work, or are interested in becoming a Street Pastor yourself, please contact them here.

For more information about the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign click here

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  This article is written as part of a series of posts about the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign

Hopefully you’ll never have to use it, but if your night out goes a bit pear-shaped, there’s a place you can go for help.

Hafan y Dref is Wrexham’s welfare centre and is staffed by British Red Cross volunteers. It offers a safe place for people feeling vulnerable or unwell on a night out in the town.

Lost your friends? No battery on your phone to call them? Too drunk to get home?

The centre is there to help.

Where is it?

Hafan y Dref is in part of the toilet block at the bottom of Town Hill – opposite the nightclub called South. So it’s easy to find.

Sometimes people come into the centre themselves. Others are helped there by police officers, street pastors and so on.

Door staff and CCTV operators can also radio for assistance at the scene of an incident.

The centre offers a triage-service and immediate first aid if you’re injured or suffering from too much to drink.

The volunteers also offer emotional and practical support if you’re feeling vulnerable.

What’s more, they don’t pass judgement. If you need help, they just help you.

Hafan y Dref opened in December 2015, and helped over 300 people last Saturday night alone.

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Dangerous situations

Michelle McBurnie, of the British Red Cross, says: “I regularly work in Hafan y Dref.

“I remember one night the team was contacted by door staff to attend a male who was unconscious on the pavement opposite their premises.

“On arrival, his partner was on the phone to ambulance control requesting assistance.

“It was clear he wasn’t ill, just extremely intoxicated. Volunteers cancelled the ambulance and he was brought back to the welfare centre where his mother was called to come and collect him.

“Thinking about and limiting how much you’re drinking during your night out, could stop you from getting into some dangerous situations later on.”

Often, people visit the centre for some ‘time out.’ They have a coffee or a lie down, or recover from over-indulging maybe.

Most cases are alcohol-related. Although staff have given support and advice to people with mental health issues too.

The focus is on providing a ‘social return’, with people able to get support when they need it, and public health messages being passed on.

 A safe and enjoyable night out

The volunteers at the centre work with lots of different organisations – including Wrexham Council, Wrexham street pastors, local businesses, the police and health services.

They help ensure people experiencing the nightlife in Wrexham have a safe and enjoyable night out.

Wrexham Council and its partners recently launched the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign, encouraging young people to look after themselves by cutting back on how much they drink before they go out…as well as how much they drink once they get to the bars, pubs and clubs in Wrexham.

It’s true that by drinking less – and knowing your limits – you can have a much better night out.

The Hafan y Dref centre opens 10.30pm-4.30am on Saturdays, and extra shifts are laid on at Christmas and Easter.

The centre is funded by Wrexham County Borough Council, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and the Welsh Ambulance Service.

For more information about the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign click here

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This article is written as part of a series of posts about the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign

If you are venturing out in Wrexham over the festive season we want to make sure you have a memorable night – for the right reasons. Take a look at our top tips to help make sure your night out is a safe and enjoyable one.

Tip 1: Don’t load up on drinks at home

It may seem like a great idea to have a few drinks at home before your night out.  You may think that it could save you money and make you more relaxed , but drinking too much at home before a night out can ultimately cut your night short. People who drink at home before going out tend to lose track of how much they have had to drink and end up getting more drunk than they had planned. This can often make you more likely to:

• Suffer illness due to excessive alcohol intake, including vomiting, which can bring your night to an unpleasant end
• Be involved in a fight
• Be injured from falling
• Become more vulnerable

Tip 2: Look out for the Best Bar None signs 

When you walk into a licenced premises and see this sign  it means you , you have just stepped inside a Best Bar None (BBN) Wrexham accredited venue. Every BBN venue has put their premises to the test to prove just how committed they are to keeping you safer on your night out.

Tip 3: Eat before drinking

Make sure you eat before you go out. Food soaks up alcohol, slowing it down before it enters the bloodstream. It will provide more energy and lessen the effects the next day. Try spacing out your drinking and drink soft drinks or water between alcoholic drinks.  This can slow the rate of your drinking.

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Tip 4: Think of your health

Most people are not aware that alcohol is a poison and drinking too much can have immediate serious implications for your health.

Tip 5: Stay with your friends

Friends look after each other. Make sure you don’t get separated. If you are socializing with a group of people, then watch out for each other and make sure everyone stays safe.

Tip 6: Don’t leave your drinks unattended

Don’t leave any drinks unattended as this may increase the possibility of your drink being spiked. Spiking can happen to both men and women. Criminals do this in order to commit a crime against you such as theft, robbery or sexual assault. For these reasons also avoid accepting drinks from strangers. If you need to leave your drink for whatever reason, ask your friends to watch it.

Tip 7: There is help at hand if you need it

If you are feeling a little too drunk, look out for street pastors who provide compassionate support in the town centre and can help you. They work in partnership with police and can provide you with water and practical help if you need it.

You can also visit the Welfare Centre at Hafod y Wern, the centre is funded by Wrexham County Borough Council, the Welsh Air Ambulance Service and the Health Board. It is staffed by British Red Cross Personnel and offers medical assistance, a place to recover and pastoral care if you have a had too much to drink, have taken illegal drugs, or are feeling vulnerable.

Tip 8: Plan your journey home

Make sure that you check any taxi you get into is properly licenced. All private hire or hackney cab vehicles should be displaying white and purple coloured licence plates which should be on the outside of all vehicles.

Private hire vehicles will also have yellow adhesive signs in the rear windows.

All drivers should have an ID badge with their name, photograph, licence number and expiry date.  If you can’t see it please ask to see it before you set off.

Tip 9: After your night out…

Drink a pint of water before going to bed to stop your body/skin dehydrating and give your body a few drink-free days to recover after a heavy drinking session.

More Information

Anyone who wants more information about the possible harms of drinking can visit these websites:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/Pages/Alcoholhome.aspx

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/abuse/Pages/drink-spiking.aspx#

Anybody who is concerned about their drinking can contact the DAN 24/7 Wales Drug & Alcohol Helpline on Freephone 0808 808 2234 or www.dan247.org.uk

Find out more about the #DrinkLessEnjoyMore campaign here

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It’s the time of year when you might start thinking about having a sort out at home ready for the festive season. As a result you might find yourself needing to visit the skip site or tip to drop off some of your pre-loved clutter.

But have you heard of the Nightingale House Hospice reuse shop at Bryn lane Household recycling site? The shop based on Wrexham Industrial Estate accepts clean, good quality items for resale on the site which is operated by Wrexham Council’s contractor FCC Environment.  Old toys, furniture, homeware, bicycles, electrical goods, prams and highchairs, sports equipment including golf clubs and bags, CDs and DVDs, books, DIY and garden tools can all be dropped off for resale.

You never know, you might even pick up the odd stocking filler too!

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Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for environment and transport explained that, “If you are having a sort out in the run up to the festive season there are lots of options for passing on your pre-loved items.  Wrexham residents who have passed on their things through the Bryn Lane reuse shop have already contributed 120 tonnes to Wrexham’s recycling rate over the past 6 months!”

Auction sites or social media selling groups are great for making a bit of extra cash whilst at the same time reducing waste.  Local baby sales are also great for both selling and buying equipment that little ones so quickly grow out of.

If your wardrobe is full of clothes that you no longer wear, how about donating your preloved tops, trousers and trainers to a second-hand shop?  If you aren’t able to get to a shop, you can now place any old clothing and shoes out on your recycling/refuse collection day.  Just tie paired shoes together, place them in a clean carrier bag with any old clothes and leave them by your recycling boxes or wheelie box.  All the clothes and shoes will be sent away for textile recycling contributing towards Wrexham’s recycling and composting rate.

• Bryn Lane Household Waste Recycling Centre is open 8am – 8pm every day of the year apart from Christmas Day
• Plas Madoc and The Lodge Household Waste Recycling Centres are open 9am – 4pm

Fill-in our questionnaire now, and make sure you have your say on proposed budget-savings.

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