A father and son will be patrolling the streets of Trowbridge two nights a week to tackle violence against women and young girls, anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood crime.

Street warden Stephen Pink and his son Sean will be working from 8pm to 4am on Friday and Saturday nights as part of the government’s Safer Streets initiative.

Their role is being funded through a Home Office grant of almost £1 million given to Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson.

Pink, a former Royal Military police officer, and his son, a former Special Constable, now work for Venture Security Ltd in Andover, which already supplies street wardens for Salisbury city centre.

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Stephen, 56, is currently being partnered for the shifts by Sally Ford, 57, a mother-of-five who worked for 30 years in the hair and beauty sector.

They started their first shift on Friday, May 3 with a guided tour of the town centre by Tori Jordan, one of the joint owners of the Still Sisters gin distillery.

Stephen said: “It is our first time tonight. At the moment, Sally and I are doing a couple of weeks but in the future, it is going to be father and son walking around Trowbridge.

“I know Trowbridge reasonably well and am looking forward to it.

“It has changed a bit. There is a lot of building work going on. We are going to be walking around town and interacting with the public we meet.”

During the first shift the pair said they had caught a couple of teenagers climbing scaffolding on the outside of the Trowbridge Town Hall.

“We urged them to get down because there was a risk they could fall,” said Stephen.

Wardens are not allowed to carry handcuffs or make arrests, and if they see a serious incident or crime taking place, they will call the police.

A PCC spokesperson said: “We are planning for two wardens to be on duty during the hours of operation, Friday and Saturday nights, and wherever possible this will include a female warden.

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“The role of the wardens is to support and assist members of the public where they may be vulnerable or at risk, particularly women and girls, provide engagement with the community, act as a guardian presence to improve feelings of safety, a visible deterrent to anti-social behaviour and intervene where necessary and appropriate to prevent crime based on their dynamic risk assessment process.”

The PPC spokesperson added: “With improving communications in the town, initially via a WhatsApp group dedicated to the project, the wardens are able to respond to the live situation and intervene quickly to prevent escalation.”