Night Angels patrolling Stroud streets to keep women safe are 'invaluable,' businesses say
Chrissie Lowery, who founded the project, said the Night Angels are helping women feel safe in the town
A group of women who patrol the streets at night to keep women safe are "invaluable", according to night-time economy bosses.
The Night Angels, now made up of around fifty volunteers, was set up by Chrissie Lowery in Stroud to coincide with the opening of a new nightclub, Trio, in the town.
Every Friday and Saturday night between 11pm and 4am, a team of six women wearing pink high-viz jackets patrol the streets of Stroud responding to incidents in the town.
Ms Lowery, who founded the Safe Space project in 2022 following a series of sexual assaults in the area, said the Night Angels is the latest step in helping women feel safe.
She said: "I know a lot of women who have said to me they won't even walk their dogs now, they won't go jogging, and now people can feel more safe to come out and enjoy their nighttimes."
The volunteers have dealt with 58 incidents in the town since the project began in December 2023.
Pamela Thom, owner of the Queen Vic in Stroud, said the team have been "invaluable" since they started.
"If we get someone who's a bit vulnerable, somebody who needs help to a taxi, we can call on them to come and collect them so our door staff don't get tied up outside the venue," she said.
"It means we can carry on and look after the venue and they can look after the people that we feel need looking after."
The team has received training from the police and has access to radios so they can make contact with the force control room when incidents occur.
"On my first shift, there was quite a violent assault. The police had to be called, and we had to assist to make sure it didn't go too out of hand," said Rachael Summers, one of the volunteer Night Angels.
"But then, you also get shifts where it's quite peaceful — but it can change minute to minute, hour to hour."
The Night Angels are currently fundraising to ensure the project can continue once the three-month pilot scheme ends.
They are planning to expand the project, which is the first of its kind in Gloucestershire, to nearby towns and cities including Cheltenham and Gloucester.