THE church is launching itself onto the streets to make Dartford town centre safer at night.

Dartford Street Pastors has announced it will begin training volunteers from September in preparation for patrolling the town centre by February next year, on Friday and Saturday evenings between 10pm and 3am.

Pioneered in London in 2003, there are now street pastors in 130 locations across the country, including 26 of the capital’s 33 boroughs.

They walk around wearing clear identifiable jackets with the words STREET PASTOR printed on the back.

Teams have been set up in English-speaking countries as far away as Antigua and Barbados, with interest from the USA and Australia.

Leader of the team responsible for implementing the pastors into Dartford, Mick Gibson, says where street pastors operate in London, crime has fallen by 70 per cent.

He said: “Being on the street is people available to offer assistance to people who need it, for example to help people to taxi ranks or bus stops.

“I think street pastors can have an impact on people because of the fact it’s not an enforcement agency, it’s a group of people offering care and attention.

“Some street pastors carry bottles of water for people or flip-flops for the girls walking home.”

Dartford Street Pastors hopes to get three teams of four to take it in turns going out each week.

Although street pastors have to be members of a church, Mr Gibson says the project is not about preaching.

He said: “I don’t want people to think it’s a platform for them to be preaching on the street corner in the middle of the night.

“It’s about being there to care.”

Pastor of Dartford Community Church Alistair Gregory said at a meeting to launch the street pastors: “This is a way for all of us to be involved in our community in a way that’s relevant to today’s world.

“Let the church play our part along with the council and police to make our town a safer place for everybody.”