Stay safe this summer – and have fun too!

Bury’s Community Safety Partnership is urging young people and their families to stay safe while having fun during the long summer break.

Safe4Summer is a Greater Manchester campaign designed to signpost young people of all ages to a whole host of fun and exciting activities in their local areas.At the same time, it shares key messages in relation to road safety, water safety, fire safety and personal safety.

Over the past few months, officers from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Greater Manchester Police have also visited schools to deliver short presentations about the Safe4Summer campaign.

Councillor Tamoor Tariq, cabinet member for communities and safer neighbourhoods, said: “There are occasions when something that may appear to be a bit of harmless fun can be seen differently by other people or carry some serious consequences if it gets out of hand. I’m keen to encourage young people and families to look at the Safe4Summer website to find out about a host of things to do over the summer which are fun and safe.”

Chief Superintendent Chris Sykes, Bury territorial commander and chair of Bury’s Community Safety Partnership, referred to the recent Pokémon Go craze’ - a Smartphone app which blends virtual reality with real life.

“While playing the game, I just want to remind people to be as safe as possible - play with groups of friends you know, avoid alerting strangers to your location and keep your devices out of sight of potential thieves.”

Jax Effiong, community safety manager from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, encouraged young people and their families to visit the following website to find out more about Safe4Summer:

www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/safe4summer/index.html

ENDS

Press release issued: 9 August 2016.

Notes to Editor:

• Safe4summer is a Greater Manchester wide partnership-based approach aimed at keeping people of all ages safe and addressing community concerns about youth related crime and anti-social behaviour during the summer months.
• Further information, including a toolkit, can be found on the website: www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/safe4summer/index.html