CHRISTIAN volunteers will take to Warminster’s streets tonight (Friday), to tackle anti-social behaviour in their role as street pastors.

The pastors, in teams of four or five, will be on the streets every Friday from 10pm to 4am, chatting to revellers, diffusing tension and helping the vulnerable.

They will hand out bottles of water and lollipops, and provide flip-flops for bare-footed women carrying uncomfortable shoes.

The teams will also pick up discarded bottles and sweep up broken glass as they go.

Volunteer and pastors secretary Helen Stevens, who lives in Westbury but attends Christ Church, Warminster, said the pastors had a proven success rate across the UK.

She said: “I got involved because I want to help vulnerable people.

“Police support us because, across the country, it is clear that violent incidents are reduced in towns which have street pastors. It is just about listening to people and offering a helping hand and it is completely non-judgemental. We offer help to anyone who needs it.”

In Wiltshire, successful street pastor schemes have started in Trowbridge, Salisbury and Swindon and, most recently, Chippenham.

The pastors are Christian volunteers who attend a training programme provided by the Ascension Trust, covering subjects including listening skills, police, drugs and alcohol awareness.

They have had training with working street pastors in Trowbridge, who have achieved a big reduction in incidents since March 2009.

Warminster Police Insp-ector Lindsey Winter said: “Twenty-one volunteers, from Warminster Baptists, Christ Church, the Foundation Christian Fello-wship and the Minster Church of St Denys will be presented with their caps tonight, following a commissioning service at Warmin-ster Baptist Church at 8pm.”

There are 200 schemes in the UK, with more than 4,000 volunteers, who must be committed Christians and have been a part of a church or fellowship for a year.

Details of the Warminster Street Pastors can be found at www.streetpastors.co.uk or on Facebook.

Insp Winter said: “This is long-awaited, but really good news for our town. It is about our local Christians actually getting involved helping prevent crime and keeping people safe.”