WINCHESTER Street Pastors has received a cash boost from a local business.

The charity was presented with a £1,400 grant from IBM Hursley towards supporting those out and about in the city at night.

An application by IBM content developer Abigail Bettle, who is also a regular Street Pastor, led to the company making the donation for the second year running.

Although the Street Pastors is independent, they work closely with the police, Winchester Business Improvement District and Winchester City Council.

Volunteers are trained from the 15 churches and are on duty on Friday and Saturday night during the hours of 10pm-3am.

They stop to chat to anyone, which gives them the chance to provide a calm spirit in the streets during the evenings.

IBM has a programme that encourages employees and retirees to volunteer with local organisations, and the scheme also supports those volunteer efforts with cash grants.

Abigail said: “It wasn’t that long ago I was in the position myself of being out drinking in Winchester as a young student.

“I didn’t have anyone there to help me if I lost my friends, or my phone ran out of battery, I would have appreciated the support from Street Pastors.

“We were awarded the highest level of grant, the Gold Award, from IBM.”

She added: “The team is great fun to work with, there’s a lot of training and support. I really appreciate the flexibility of working at IBM, as I can usually work at home after a Thursday night shift.”

Street Pastors coordinator Mark Hibbert-Hingston said they were “thrilled” to have received the grant.

“For the second year running, IBM have chosen to support us, and the money will be used to provide uniforms and training for both our existing members, and new volunteers,” he said.

“We give equipment to the teams for their work on the streets; space blankets, first aid supplies, personal attack, alarms, flip flops, sweets and hot drinks.

“ Meeting the needs of vulnerable people is why we go out at night.”