Huge thanks to the Chippenham Lions for thier generous grant to the WBTV of £500. Every single penny helps us to continue helping the older and vulnerable people in our community stay safe and recover from incidents of crime.
Our Director, Jennie Shaw, is pictured below with Cllr Andy Phillips, Mayor of Chippenham, at the presentation evening at the end of June.
Our three Bobby Vans cover miles across the county every day, sometimes the temptation to stop for a 10 minute coffee break at a local beauty spot makes for some great photo opportunities! This week one of Security Operator Mick Leighfield’s coffee breaks was next to the Fovant Badges, Salisbury:
Very many thanks to the Urchfont Scarecrow Festival Charity for the continuing support – we have just recieved £250.00 from this year’s event, and will ensure that it is well-used making older and vulnerable people safer in their homes.
Huge thanks from us at the WBVT to the Wiltshire Lodge of Agriculture (9090) for your donation of £250.00 and kind words about the value of the work we do.
Our new video about the Stay Safe Online (SSO) service we offer is now available! Filmed in partnership with Wiltshire Police, it features the work our SSO Volunteer Team undertake.
Tamas Kiss, SSO Volunteer, undertakes a home visit and community talk, whilst Director Jennie Shaw and Cyber Crime Prevention Officer for Wiltshire, Lee Stripe, speak more widely about the service and its importance.
Please note: for Home Security visits, call the main office number: 01380 861155.
Amazon’s Smile service has arrived in the UK, allowing you to nominate a charity to receive a donation every time you make an Amazon purchase.
When you visit smile.amazon.co.uk, instead of the regular Amazon URL, you’ll be asked to select a UK charity before browsing Amazon, just type in The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust and click Select. Although the URL will change, you’ll still be browsing the regular Amazon store, with the same items you’d normally see.
It doesn’t add anything to your cost either. When you make an eligible purchase, Amazon will donate 0.5 percent of the cost to your chosen charity. That might not seem like a huge amount, but Amazon has donated $65 million so far in the four years it’s been active in the US. So please join up and remember to go through smile.amazon.co.uk when shopping on Amazon.
On Saturday 23rd June, the Devizes Rotary, working in partnership with Devizes Communty Area Wellbeing Group, hosted the first Devizes Community Area Wellbeing Day on the small green in Devizes.
The aim of the day is was to provide FREE entertainment and information to the over 55s in the Devizes Community Area. Visitors had a great day discovering what activities and services are available to them, and enabled the organisations, charities and clubs that provide those services to promote what they do.
Our WBVT had a great time in the Devizes, speaking to lots of people and taking requests for home visits from our home security team and our Stay Safe Online team.
There was a lovely follow-up piece in the Gazette and Herald, and more images of the day on the Devizes Rotary website too.
The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust were again present at the Wiltshire Agricultural Preservation Group’s annual Wiltshire Steam & Vintage Rally, held at Rainscombe Park, Oare.
It was a great weekend, where our team were able to speak to people about the work we do with home and online security across the county and raise ever-needed funds to continue the work we do.
It was also the perfect opportunity for our newest team member, Security Operator Will Todd, to experience this aspect of our work and engage with the public in a wider context.
A special thanks to Lady Julia and Robert Hiscox, WBVT Chairman, for allowing the rally to be held at Rainscombe Park.
The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust (WBVT) are pleased to announce that we now have an additional, third van on the road, enabling us to respond more swiftly to visit requests across the county.
Since 1998, the WBVT has supported people over 60 and 18+ registered disabled by making their homes more secure, and providing advice. Responding to referrals from agencies such as Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Council, Age UK, etc, and requests by individuals for visits, the WBVT has seen demand for the service increase to the point where we needed another van and Security Operator.
Former PCSO Will Todd joins our two existing Security Operators, Doug Batchelor and Mick Leighfield. Will has worked with Wiltshire Police since 2004, and brings a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience to his new role with the WBVT.
Will says:
Will’s van will mainly provide cover for the middle and west of the county, and help us to ensure that there is more consistent coverage of the county, which was a struggle with only two vans. The increased demands for talks at community events can also now be more easily accommodated – with requests coming to Paula Evans and Kath Williams in the office weekly.
In line with her ongoing kind support and patronage of The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, HRH Duchess of Cornwall has now provided her support to a series of animated films produced by students at Bournmouth University.
The three short Cut Your Strings films cover: Threats; Isolation; and Tracking & monitoring. Just some examples of coercive and controlling behaviour… which is domestic abuse… and is illegal.
One of the less well-known aspects of our work at The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust is our free home security support for victims of domestic abuse. Although victims cannot refer themselves for these services – support agencies such as Wiltshire Police, Splitz, Swindon Women’s Aid, etc, etc, can refer them to us.
Alongside regular security check items, such as lock changes, our Security Operators give practical advice and can provide victims of domestic abuse with personal attack alarms. Our Security Operators also work closely with the Sanctaury Scheme in Swindon to install safe rooms if required, to ensure victims have a more secure room in the home to safely await emergency help if needbe.
For more information and support:
