Drinkaware Crew scheme expands with first Yorkshire venues

Drinkaware Crew are additional members of staff who support young people who may be vulnerable as a result of drinking too much. They offer assistance ranging from helping vulnerable people get a taxi home and reuniting them with their friends to handing out bottles of water.

The scheme is designed for venues with a 500-plus capacity, with training having already been delivered to venues in Bolton, Cheltenham, Glasgow, Plymouth, London, Cardiff, Swansea, Nottingham, Bristol, Derby, Coventry, Leicester, Birmingham, Loughborough, Stalybridge, Pontypridd and Exeter.

Yorkshire’s first Drinkaware Crew is being launched by Wakefield Business Improvement District (BID) with the support of West Yorkshire Police, as part of the city's drive to secure Purple Flag status awarded to cities who’ve achieved excellence in the management of their evening and night-time economy.

The new Wakefield scheme takes the total number of areas hosting trained Drinkaware Crew to 18.

Under the new scheme, Drinkaware will deliver specialist staff training for Drinkaware Crew members in five city centre venues across Wakefield.

Drinkaware chief executive Elaine Hindal commented: "We are delighted to be introducing Drinkaware Crew into its first venues in Yorkshire, which gives us a presence in nearly all parts of the UK.

“The scheme has been a great success in other areas where it operates, delivering clear benefits to customers, venues and the local area."

Smaller venues can benefit from the Drinkaware Alcohol Vulnerability Awareness e-learning course, based on the Drinkaware Crew training programme. This gives customer-facing staff the skills and knowledge to identify alcohol-related vulnerability and support customers at risk from harm.