During August there were:

• 3 Friday night patrols
• 3 Saturday night patrols
• 6 Patrols totalling 31 hours of cover involving 21 Street Pastors
• 7 pairs of flip-flops given, 250 lollies and Love Hearts, 1 space blanket

Here are some of the ways Street Pastors cared, listened and helped in August:

• Spent time with different groups of young people
• Searched for a lost mobile phone in a park
• Assisted a distressed couple that were making their way back to London

With warmer weather and lighter evenings, our early teams spent quite a bit of time with groups of young people in different places around Wantage and Grove. As we were leaving one such group, a young lad asked if we would help look for a lost smartphone. After searching for some time and with no success, the owner decided that he might not have had it with him anyway! It didn’t hurt to look and the team were pleased that he knew he could ask for our help.

We’re always happy to chat to groups of young people when we find them. It helps them to know there are people looking out for them and that they can call upon us if they need us. Our presence also helps to ensure their safety and, although we’re not there to police them as such, perhaps our presence encourages them to behave appropriately.

One of our teams met a couple that had been at a wedding locally but were heading back to London. They were in some distress, possibly due to a panic attack and the man requested we call the police. We spoke to the police and they sent two officers who stayed with the couple until they were able to continue their journey.

Street Pastors from several areas including Wantage & Grove joined together to patrol at Reading Festival. We spent much of the patrol directing people who were lost and caring for a few people that were unwell (partly through going on a fairground ride). One man in particular had sought help at the medical tent but having waited some time decided to make his way back to the campsite. We found him and realised that he really needed medical attention and were able to deliver him to a medical hut on his campsite.