THE work of the Clock (Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly & Kelty) Street Pastors is helping many people throughout the area.

It is five years since the voluntary organisation was set up and from its base in the former shop premises called The Clearing, on Friday and Saturday nights, the pastors hit the streets of the three communities and are there to help anyone who needs assistance.

Cowdenbeath Rotary Club has been one of the sponsors of the Clock organisation and on Thursday night its co-ordinator, Wilma Aitchison, a volunteer who is out on the streets in the evenings most weekends to help others.

Said Wilma: “The idea came from the London area in the early 2000s and five years ago the Clock Street Pastors came into being following a public meeting in Cowdenbeath’s North Parish Church.

“The whole idea is that a team of three goes out on a Friday and Saturday in our communities and we are there to help people if they need it, whether it be perhaps someone who has had too much to drink and needs some help to get their bearings to be able to get home.

“Or it could be a young person who has perhaps left home after falling out with their parents or guardian and is unsure of what to do.

“We can offer some advice and seek to guide them in the right direction.

“My most interesting situation came when I was in a pub and a young man wrote on a beermat ‘I need help’.

“I spoke to him and he said that he had got into a problem with drugs and ‘he wanted his life back’. I managed to get him a referral and he was given assistance, but I had no idea how things had worked out for him.

“Then I saw the young guy in the Morrison’s store in the town a couple of years later and he told me that he had indeed got clear of drugs, he had got his life back and he thanked me. That gave me a really nice feeling.”

Wilma said that currently Clock has nine street pastors who are out on the streets most weekends, with another two in training, and she added: “We are always looking for more people to get involved.

“If anyone would like to become a street pastor we would love to hear from you.”

A visit to The Clearing, on High Street, could open the door for you.

Also on Thursday the club presented Jo Rankin and Heather Garry with a cheque for £250 for their Oliver’s Army charity, which has just opened its new base in the former Post Office building on Cowdenbeath High Street.

They explained that training assistance dogs to help people with whatever challenges they may have, whether it be physical or mental, was a key part of their work.

They also had a facility to offer assistance to anyone who might feel they have a mental health issue and there are other services they are working on. They thanked the club members for their support.