A Cardiff second year is going to create a scheme to walk clubbers home safely

The society plans to have a base within the SU to walk students home after nights out.

Alastair Babington, a second year Genetics student at Cardiff University, acted after reading recent Tab stories regarding sexual assaults in Cardiff.

He decided to make a change after seeing statistics from 2012 to 2015 revealing only two out of 30 crimes of violent or sexual nature led to imprisonment.

The man with the plan

The Student Walk Scheme will be a society of volunteers dedicated to walking us home after a mad one at the Union.

A minimum of two volunteers will be assigned to each student and will be required to check in with base at various points throughout the walk – the safety of the volunteers is paramount and at the end of the night the volunteers will walk each other home.

Alastair is keen to extend operations throughout the week to other locations across the city.

He said: “The tipping-point came when I read your article on how out of 30 assaults in the past three years, just under half had remained unresolved.

“This was when I decided to actually try and start this scheme.

“My sister told me that a society named ‘The Durham University Street Angels’ that ran a similar scheme.

“I tracked down one of the founders on Facebook for advice.

“I’ve absolutely loved it here at Cardiff, so ensuring that students feel safe walking home is an appropriate way in which myself and my volunteers can repay Cardiff for our time here.

“The Student Walk Scheme aims to see a significant decrease in the number of assaults by Freshers’ week 2016.”

Alastair and his committee

The scheme intends to operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 12 and 3am.

Members will be given all the necessary equipment such as radios, first aid kits, hi-vis clothing and maps.

As a student lead scheme, Alastair understands that volunteers may not be able to work every week.

“If you can do just one night a month we’ll have you. This is an opportunity for students to get involved and help solve the problem.”

You can get involved by joining the Facebook group or emailing [email protected].