Stay safe during the festive season

STAY safe when out and about during the festive season – that’s the message from the borough council for young people in Warrington.
Council chiefs launched their pre-Christmas Stay Safe campaign at the Youth Café.
The campaign is aimed at young adults and teenagers and, using eye-catching publicity, it provides useful advice about how to enjoy a night out safely.
It encourages people to think about personal safety while out and about, including not being pressured into drinking, staying with individuals that they know and trust, making sure their phone is charged before going out and having arrangements to get home.
Young people from Warrington’s Youth Service helped to create the key messages of the Stay Safe campaign, which include: “House party tonight? don’t give your parents a fright”; “hanging around? be safe and sound”; “know your limit, and stay within it”.
The council’s public health team have developed handy wallet “reminder” cards, with the help of the Youth Service and the Youth Advice Shop (YAS).
The cards provide the Stay Safe messages and the Youth Café and YAS Christmas opening times, so that young people will know where to go for contraception and other advice over the Christmas period if they need it. The cards will be distributed across the town, including Orford Youth Base, the Youth Advice Shop and the Youth Café.
Cllr Pat Wright, the council’s lead member for statutory health and adult services, said: “Of course we want people to enjoy themselves this Christmas, but sometimes drinking more alcohol than usual can lead to risky behaviour.
The Stay Safe campaign seeks to help people to avoid putting themselves in a vulnerable and potentially dangerous situation.  We also want to make sure our young people, particularly those who are underage, do not feel under pressure to drink.
“If you are a parent or guardian of a teenager or young person, please encourage them to take note of the campaign messages, so they can stay safe this Christmas.”
Further information about the Stay Safe campaign can be found at www.warrington.gov.uk/staysafe.