Lead

Jun 1 08 3:11 PM

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wasnt sure where to put this....

It is 1am on a Friday night in Sutton, a south London suburb, where 4,000 people will queue to get into – then stumble out of – bars and night clubs over the next few hours. Most are young, drunk and potentially vulnerable.

Rosie has missed her last train home and wants to know where to get a night bus. Elspeth is dealing with a paralytic friend who cannot stand up. Claire is in tears because her friends used fake ID to get into a club and left her outside. There is not a policeman in sight, but help of a holier kind is at hand.

I am on patrol with eight "street pastors": people so concerned about the numbers of young people out drinking that they head to high streets every Friday night to deal with the fallout. They are part of an inter-denominational Christian group of adults moving out of their middle-class, middle-aged comfort zones to make the streets feel safer while they are on patrol – and they boast some high-profile fans.

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." ~~John 15:5~~