Reverend reassures city after Hereford Cathedral rape

“We were all deeply saddened to hear of the Cathedral Close incident on Sunday morning.”

She pointed out that there was already ‘extensive’ CCTV coverage of Cathedral Close, adding: ‘we will continue to work with local authorities and police to ensure we do everything we can to ensure visitors to the Close stay safe in the dark.’

Robert Thomas, chief executive of social charity Hereford Vennture, whose street chaplaincy program promotes safety in the city at night, said that despite the efforts of his group and others, “if someone is determined to do something bad, he or she will plan it and will choose his/her choice.” time and place”.

“There have been more street chaplains and additional police street patrols in recent months, so there is a visible presence at night to act as a deterrent,” he said.

In addition to helping people get home safely, Vennture’s street pastors also monitored people approaching people late at night and worked with the venues’ door staff to identify problems, he said.

‘Hereford is a very safe place. But every now and then there will be people who are determined to hurt others,” he added.

Mr Thomas’s main advice to ensure a safe night out is that people should “stick to friends on the way home and avoid strangers.”