Angmering bus funding boost

Sussex Police Authority has given the Angmering Youth Forum, which runs the bus, a £700 grant to keep the mobile youth centre on the road.

Youth forum chairman Chris Lynch said: “There is no permanent youth provision in Angmering, so the bus is a valuable asset in our diversion work.

“This money will enable us to continue to run the bus and improve its facilities for our young people. It has allowed us to enhance the lighting on the bus so we can play safer in the darker autumn evenings.”

The forum is appealing for more volunteers to help run the sessions and to drive the bus. For would-be drivers, there is the opportunity to learn how to drive a bus for no charge, in exchange for a couple of hours of volunteering a week.

Chris added: “We have been gratified to see how welcoming the kids are when we turn up every week in our unique work of art!”

Anyone who is interested in helping out, either as a volunteer or with a donation of money, is asked to contact Chris on 01903 859713. There is also more information on the website www.angmeringyouthforum.co.uk

The forum was set up four years ago by Andrea Oakley, at the time Angmering’s police community support officer, who enlisted the help of a few other people to try to solve a problem of youths hanging around the village streets in the evenings, causing anti-social behaviour.

The young people told Andrea that what they wanted most was quite simply, somewhere they could go in the evenings to “chill out” and talk with their friends in a safe and warm environment.

With no suitable venue available in the village, it was decided to raise funds to buy and convert the bus.