MORE than £23,000 has been allocated to aid two services provided in Basingstoke.

The money has been made available as part of the latest grants announced by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner, Michael Lane.

The commissioner’s grants are presented to projects and services which support victims and seek to prevent offending across Hampshire.

Of the money allocated, £5,000 was granted to the Basingstoke Street Pastors.

Street pastors are trained volunteers from local churches and who care about community. They are on patrol from 10pm to 4am every Friday and Saturday night to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets.

They also have support from local churches and community groups in partnership with the police, local council and other statutory agencies.

As well as the money granted to the street pastors, more than £18,000 was allocated to Detached Basingstoke, a group which works with young people in Basingstoke to reduce the incidence of anti-social behaviour and raise awareness of its impact on others.

The group is able to respond to hot spots of anti-social behaviour identified by the police and offers a range of activities aimed at diverting young people from further offending.

Basingstoke’s MP, Maria Miller, praised the commissioner for supplying these two services with the grants to keep them running in the town.

Mrs Miller said: “I very much welcome the Police and Crime Commissioner’s decision to fund these two vital services which provide a lifeline for the people they work with and help to support the work of frontline police officers on the ground.”

In total in the last set of grants given by Mr Lane, there was more than £334,000 allocated to different groups and services around Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

To find out more about the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner visit hampshire-pcc.gov.uk.