20ft projection reminds town centre revellers to Think safe, Drink safe!

Chief Inspector George Fawcett hands a clubber a Think safe, Drink safe goodie bag aimed at encouraging safe and responsible drinking.

Would you squat down and pee in the street? Would you smash a glass in someone’s face? Would you trash the place if they got your order wrong?

These were the questions being asked of Rochdale Town Centre clubbers in a bid to promote safe and responsible drinking at the weekend. The 20ft images were projected onto EAST bar in the town centre on Friday (23 October) and Saturday (24 October) and into the early hours of the morning.

Police and Licensing Officers handed out ‘Think safe, Drink safe’ goodie bags to revellers in the Town Centre all weekend. The goodie bags included Unit calculators (so people can keep track of their drinking), Bottled water (so that they can pace their drinks and drink water in between alcoholic drinks), Condoms (to encourage safer sex), Responsible drinking literature (to encourage safer drinking practices ) and Spikeys (to prevent drinks from being spiked).

Members of Rochdale’s Best Bar None Scheme say that the safety of drinkers is just as important to them, and have been supporting the local authorities and the police to make sure Rochdale Town Centre nightlife is safe and sociable.

Mark Foxley and Martyn Turner, Owners of MANGO and winners of the Best Bar None Scheme, said: “We want to maintain our clubs’ reputations of being safe and enjoyable venues and that means working hard to keep antisocial, drunken and disorderly behaviour to an absolute minimum for the safety and welfare of all our customers.”

Extra Police in Rochdale patrol the town centre on Friday and Saturday nights to enforce the law around safer drinking and keep antisocial behaviour and drunken disorder to a minimum.

George Fawcett, Chief Inspector at Rochdale Division, said: “We’re working together with our partners in the council and the NHS to make sure that people socialise in Rochdale and enjoy the clubs and bars but do it in a safe and considerate manner. We want people to enjoy a night out and go home safely. We’ve worked with our partners to produce goodies which we’re giving out to revellers on their way home and we hope that they take note of the items inside. And then when they socialise in Rochdale they will have a safe and enjoyable time.”