Cheltenham Street pastors save lives

​Two men were saved from freezing to death by volunteers described by critics as religious “do-gooders”.

The revellers, who fell unconscious in an alleyway off The Strand in Cheltenham after drinking too much, were discovered on Sunday by street pastors in temperatures of -6 C.

The Christian volunteers found the freezing pair after they had passed out after consuming too much alcohol and called the authorities.

Police say the men, who both survived, would almost certainly have died if they had not been discovered by the helpers.

Inspector Jon Roberts said: “In temperatures as low as that there is no way these two men would have survived the night. They were very fortunate the street pastors discovered them.

“The incident highlights what an important impact the pastors are having on people’s welfare on a night out.

“They are extra eyes and ears for the police, and undoubtedly make the town centre a safer place.”

Pastor Barbara, who did not want to give her surname, said she and another colleague, Joel, found the men at around 2am.

She said: “We saw two men lying in the cold on the ground. One was unconscious but we managed to rouse the other one.

“They were both in a bad way and we didn’t know how long they had been lying there for.”

Barbara and Joel stayed with the pair until an ambulance took the unconscious man to hospital and a family member arrived to take the other man home.

Barbara, who said the worst-affected man was discharged from hospital later that night, said: “I’m absolutely elated that they’re okay. That’s my only concern.”

Joel added: “Barbara and I used our common sense and our training, assisting the semi-conscious person and involving the emergency services for the person who was not responding.”

The arrival of the street pastors in Cheltenham in December received a mixed response from the public, with some people deriding them as “do-gooders” and “religious fanatics”.

But clad in their high-visibility jackets, they have proved popular, offering a range of services – from helping people find taxis home to handing out bottles of water to those who have over-indulged on booze.

In other parts of the country, street pastor schemes have claimed to reduce crime by up to 84 per cent, and they has received the backing of police, civic leaders and churches across Cheltenham.