THE Police and Crime Commissioner helped a litter team tidy up part of the town centre as part of the Safer Streets campaign.

Equipment for the team has been funded by the commissioner John Dwyer via the Safer Streets campaign.

The Safer Streets campaign was launched in Warrington in March following a successful bid for £550,000 from the commissioner. The funding is being used for various initiatives to make Warrington’s streets safer, particularly for women and girls.

Organised by Tony Dixon, the Tuesday and Sunday litter teams have been meeting over the past few weeks to clean up the town centre as part of the Safer Streets initiative. So far, they have collected 395 bags of rubbish over the course of 19 litter picking sessions.

John Dwyer, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, said: “People might ask what litter picking has to do with Safer Streets, but it actually comes down to the very basics of what makes people feel safe in their communities.

“Removing materials that could cause harm as well as keeping an area generally tidy means people will feel safer. I’m grateful to Tony and the team for their amazing effort and for their contribution to the Safer Streets campaign.”

Tony DixoN, ORGaniser of Warrington’s Tuesday and Sunday Litter Teams said: “People instinctively respond to environmental cues which tell them whether to feel safe and confident in public spaces. We also know that a good environment can bring out the better side of people’s behaviour.

“We are grateful to John Dwyer, Cheshire Police and WBC for enabling this to happen and supporting our groups and their volunteers, chiefly from the Tuesday, Sunday and Howley litter teams.

The scheme has seen extra street lighting and CCTV being installed, and educational programmes being developed for local schools and businesses on spotting inappropriate behaviour.

John Dwyer added: “I hope people in Warrington have seen our campaign and I want to reassure everyone about the commitment the Constabulary has to making our streets safer. I want to take what works in Warrington and roll it out across the county for the benefit of everyone in Cheshire.”

Find out more about Safer Streets Warrington at saferstreetswarrington.com