Stroud streets patrolled by Night Angels keeping women safe

A group of women are patrolling the streets of a town in Gloucestershire at night, to promote female safety.

Night Angels was started up by Chrissie Lowery to coincide with the opening of a new night club, Trio, in Stroud.

Ms Lowery, who set up Safe Space in 2022 after a series of sexual assaults, said: "They [women] come up and hug us at the end of the night and thank us."

Inspector Paul Cruise said after Sarah Everard's murder women may not "feel able to approach police officers".

Ms Lowery said the Night Angels were started just before Christmas and now boast "around 60 angels".

"We go out every single Friday and Saturday," she said.

"On Saturday we don't get home until four in the morning and on Friday its half an hour earlier."

Going out in a team of six, the female volunteers are "never on their own" as they "visit all the night time economies" in the town.

"We have an amazing community in Stroud, everybody wants to help," she said.

"We've had a lot of offers for training - defibrillator training, CPR training so we can have a higher standard of first aid as well."

Revellers making their way home after a night out are not only offered first aid - if needed - but water and lollipops as well.

"All the young and older women say: 'you make us feel so safe'," she said.

"We've had the occasional: 'why aren't you looking after the young men' as well.

"We give men first aid if they need it, but we're a women's group for women."

Insp Cruise, from Stroud and Dursley neighbourhood policing team, said Gloucestershire Police has been supporting the team of female volunteers.

"We are making sure they've got access to radios so they can make contact with the force control room, CCTV and if need be our neighbourhood policing teams," he said.

"We're also offering them training as well."

But, he said, it was important the Night Angels remain independent from the police.

"With the attack on Sarah Everard the trust in the police might sometimes be a factor in whether women and girls feel able to approach police officers," he said.

"So having the Night Angels as an independent and separate entity is absolutely key."

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