Celebrating Lincolnshire’s first ever Community Safety Awards this weekend

On Saturday, July 18, children as young as five and teenagers from youth groups from across the county will come together to receive their Duke of Cornwall Community Safety Awards – a national accolade inspired by HRH Prince Charles.

The youngsters have been learning how they can make a difference in a crisis such as severe weather, a flu pandemic or a long-term power cut.

As well as receiving their awards, they will be putting their skills into action through a series of exciting activities at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue’s Waddington training centre.

They will work together to find their way through a derailed train, escape from a damaged school, investigate a crime scene, take part in a Police Interceptors inspired task and a hide and seek challenge with Alfie the search and rescue dog.

They will also take part in target practice with a hose reel, use CCTV equipment to find Bobby Bear and will need to find their way through a pretend smoke-filled room.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and Lincolnshire Police will be helping the young people through each task.

At the end of the activities the young people will receive one of the following awards:

* The Home Award (for ages 5 to 10) – learning the basics of how to be prepared at home.

* The Neighbourhood Award (for ages 10 to 14) – how to assist in the community by checking on neighbours and vulnerable residents.

* The Community Award (for ages 14 to 18) – how to evacuate residents in an emergency.

Leanne Hunt, emergency planning officer, said: “We have had a fantastic response to the first ever Community Safety Awards in Lincolnshire, with 15 youth groups taking part.

“Now it’s time to celebrate the hard work of these young people with an award ceremony and some useful yet fun activities for the youngsters to participate in.

“They will have the chance to experience some of the tasks that police officers and firefighters would in a real emergency – but in a safe and controlled environment.”

Neil Rhodes, chief constable for Lincolnshire Police and chairman of the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum, said: “The talents of our young people are often underestimated. This is a really positive way of celebrating what they are capable of and harnessing their skills.

“The awards mean that the young people have a greater understanding and respect for what the emergency services do, and teaches them how they can play their part in keeping themselves and their communities safe.”

Daniel Withnall, Squadron Leader for the Trent Wing Air Cadets, said: “The introduction of this award highlights how important community safety is, and the positive approach that the partners of the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum take in informing local residents how they can help each other and stay safe.

“Our Air Cadets and the other participants of the Community Safety Award in Lincolnshire have worked hard to meet the requirements of the award and this coming together at the event will celebrate their achievements.”

If you are involved with a youth group and would like to find out more about taking part, please email [email protected] or call 01522 582286