Residents unaware of Pitsea safety scheme

17 May 2019, 09:41 | Updated: 17 May 2019, 09:44

More than six months since the start of an initiative to help keep people safe in Pitsea - not many residents seem to know it even exists.

The 'Safer Streets' project sees businesses who want to take part displaying stickers to mark themselves out as a place of refuge and help should someone need it.

But when Heart went to the town to see how it's been going, a lot of those we asked were unfamiliar with the scheme.

It's not been completely without merit though.

Grant Morrell is from the local TSB branch, which displays one of the stickers.

"We've had occasions where actually we've had 13/14-year-olds coming to the branch that had lost their mobile phone," he told Heart.

"And they've come in and said, 'Look, can you call mum for me?'

"And that goes in line with the initiative.

"That shows that we're there to protect the community, and do as much as we can."

Essex Police say they "remain committed to the Safer Streets initiative in Pitsea, and will continue to respond to calls from businesses who work under" it.