Festive revellers urged to take care (From Swindon Advertiser)

30% more to hit town over Christmas

2:00pm Saturday 19th December 2009 in News By Ben Perrin

A SWINDON bar manager and a drugs information service are encouraging festive party-goers to stay safe this Christmas with the number of people hitting the town set to rise.

Pubwatch secretary Gemma Rowlands, who manages Yates’s in Bridge Street, said she expects to see 30 per cent more revellers in Swindon during the festive fortnight.

Taxi marshalls will be on hand to direct people home and the street pastors team will patrol the streets to offer assistance where they can, she said.

Gemma is also warning those consuming alcohol to keep their drinks with them at all times.

“Our bar staff do try to tell people to keep their drinks with them or they will be picked up,” said Gemma, who won the overall Best Bar None licence award for Yates’s earlier this month.

“The street pastors are brilliant and we let the police know if there are any problems.

“You will also find there are some people who don’t know the town very well if they are out celebrating their office Christmas party. We are on hand to help.”

It follows statistics released by the drugs information service FRANK stating nearly one in 10 16 to 25-year-olds in the south west claim the party season is when they are more likely to encounter drugs, or do or say something they later regret.

The overwhelming majority of those surveyed said people are more likely to get carried away and over-do it at Christmas compared to any other time of year.

Around half expect to drink too much alcohol and go out too much.

While young people are looking forward to a quiet Christmas with their family, more than half put overindulging down to escaping the pressures and strains of the season, including the sense of anti-climax, money worries and family members getting under each other’s feet.

With nearly a quarter of teenagers in the south west expecting to get embarrassingly drunk, or spend some time hung-over or on a come down FRANK is reminding people to take care when getting swept up in this year’s festivities.

Callum Jacobs, from FRANK, said: “There are some things about Christmas that are a dead cert – from dodgy number one singles to ‘Christmas classics’ on the telly.

“But with drugs, you never know what you’re going to get.

“Drugs like cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy affect different people in different ways, and all of them carry risks that can mess up your life.

“Take care not to over-do it or get carried away by this year’s Christmas carry on.”

Contact FRANK for free confidential information and advice at any time of the day or night by calling 0800 77 66 00. You can also text a question to FRANK on 82111 or visit www.talktofrank.com.