Shropshire Star

Wristbands to keep tabs on youngsters

Young children who get lost in Shrewsbury while out late night Christmas shopping will be reunited with their parents much quicker thanks to a new scheme involving wristbands. Young children who get lost in Shrewsbury while out late night Christmas shopping will be reunited with their parents much quicker thanks to a new scheme involving wristbands. Fluorescent bands will be handed out by officers every night of late night shopping, starting on November 19, and during Carols in the Square. Emergency contact numbers will be written on them. They will be placed around the child's wrist and will hold the contact number for whoever the child is in town with that night, so if the youngster gets lost, police are quickly able to reunite them with their family. Community Support Office Angie Roberts came up with the idea after being inspired by a similar scheme at the Shrewsbury Flower Show this year. Read the full story in today's Shropshire Star.

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Young children who get lost in Shrewsbury while out late night Christmas shopping will be reunited with their parents much quicker thanks to a new scheme involving wristbands.

Fluorescent bands will be handed out by officers every night of late night shopping, starting on November 19, and during Carols in the Square. Emergency contact numbers will be written on them.

They will be placed around the child's wrist and will hold the contact number for whoever the child is in town with that night, so if the youngster gets lost, police are quickly able to reunite them with their family.

Community Support Office Angie Roberts came up with the idea after being inspired by a similar scheme at the Shrewsbury Flower Show this year.

"The bands will not have any address details or the child's name on them, just the contact number," she said.

"If police are asked to help or we come across a lost child, it is a simple matter of phoning the number on the band to quickly reunite them with their family. This reduces the distress and worry for both the child and the parent or guardian.

"We've worked closely with The Darwin Centre and have been generously given a small unit next to QVC on the lower ground floor, where we will be distributing the bands.

"There is no prior registration needed and it's free, people just need to pop along and we can get them sorted," she said.

Shopper Kelly Scott, 23, of Minsterley, said the bands were a great idea and would ease her mind when shopping with sons Joshua Jones, three and Joseph, one.

She said: "It's a really great idea. Joshua does tend to wander off when he sees something. The bands would certainly help,"

Geoff Harris, of Bayston Hill, who was shopping in Shrewsbury with his son Sam, three, said the bands would be useful for parents.

He said: "It is a good idea to save them getting lost. I have other children and one of those wandered off in a shop once and that was quite scary for a brief moment."

By Rebecca Lawrence