THE CLOCK Street Pastors have made a substantial impact in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area over the past two years.

The group, made up of members of several local churches, 'patrol' the streets of Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Kelty on Friday and Saturday nights ready to offer help to anyone who may need it whether they be revellers or a person who simply wants someone to talk to.

Street Pastors provide weekend revellers with water bottles, lollipops and even basic first aid in this area and across Scotland and are recognisable through their familiar blue uniforms and in the two years they have worked in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area they have helped a lot of people.

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP and times columnist, Murdo Fraser, hosted a reception for Street Pastor groups in the Scottish Parliament to celebrate their tenth anniversary.

Murdo Fraser said: "A couple of years back I joined the Street Pastors in Perth and witnessed first-hand their work on a Saturday night.

"Although, no stranger to patrolling the High Street, albeit in the morning with a leaflet in hand, this experience was an altogether different one and left me in no doubt about the significant contribution these men and women make to the night-time economy.

"During our patrol, Street Pastors handed out flip-flops, dispensed water bottles, lollipops, and provided a friendly face and sympathetic shoulder to lean on.

"What was absent, was any effort to preach or convert non-believers. If revellers want to ask questions then they are more than happy to engage, but this is about providing a service rather than an opportunity to evangelize. You won’t see or hear Street Pastors judge those they help and their work is the very pinnacle of Christian compassion and is something the church must do more of".

"In Scotland, the Ascension Trust runs the initiative and Street Pastors have been helping people for over ten years and now operate in 23 different locations. This is a great achievement and they are as much a part of the great Scottish night out as a kebab on the way home.

"From Elgin to Edinburgh, Street Pastors are on hand to help, and in my own region, Street Pastors patrol in Perth, Stirling, Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Levenmouth. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of these teams for their dedication and hard work.”