High Sheriff’s praise after trio of ride-alongs

Wiltshire High Sheriff Dr Alex Goodwin with Bobby Van Operator Scott Roughley on one of his three days out with the Bobby Van

WILTSHIRE High Sheriff Dr Alex Goodwin has praised the Wiltshire Bobby Van after spending three days out with its operators helping elderly victims of crime and women at risk of domestic abuse.

He was invited by Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust Director Jennie Shaw to witness the work of the charity, which has three Bobby Vans – which act as mobile workshops – working with police and self-referrals to provide free home security measures who have suffered or are at risk of crime.

He went out with operators Doug Batchelor, Vincent Logue and Scott Roughley to see how they deal with the people referred to the charity.

“I just think they're incredible,” he said. “I saw little things being done that made such a big difference to the individuals concerned. These guys go out and they do good, they have a wonderful way with them and they treat the individuals with respect, compassion and kindness.”

Alex, who holds the post of High Sheriff for a year, said he was struck by the difference the visits made to people. “We went to see one gentleman at Warminster and when we arrived he was slightly cowed, shoulders down,” he said.

“But when we left, his shoulders were back, he was a little more upright and he was keen to talk to us about his rhubarb. He was just a different character and we’d only been there an hour.”

Alex recently retired after 31 years as a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at the RUH NHS Foundation Trust in Bath. He said because of his experience in medicine, he has been aware of the effects of domestic abuse but he was still shocked at the number of people at risk who are referred to the Bobby Van.

“Some of the cases we saw really resonated with me because it’s a world that I had no exposure to,” he said. “I was impressed with the care and patience shown those we went to visit and the measures taken to make them feel safe, like fitting vibration alarms on windows for those who are feeling threatened by partners, which would give them a little more time to get out or press a panic button to raise the alarm.”

He was also surprised at how busy the charity, which receives no government funding and needs to raise more than £400,000 a year to maintain its service, is. “When I was with them, they did four jobs a day but I do wonder if they didn’t want to keep me out too long,” he said. “If you consider they’re seeing at least 12 individuals a day between the three of them, that’s around 50 a week and more than 2,500 a year – that’s a lot of people who need help.

“Now I keep telling people that they should go out with a van just to see what they do because it is incredible.”