GWENT’S Bobby Van scheme will finally close at the end of the month, after a long-running funding battle failed.
The charity has made more than 40,000 home security visits, fitting burglar alarms, locks and chains for the elderly, vulnerable and victims of crime.
But, after Gwent Police withdrew £76,000 of grant funding and Safer Newport ended its annual contribution of £20,000, chairman of trustees Tony Curtis announced it will make its last home visit on March 31. The service cost £150,000 a year to run.
It was launched in 1998 as the Gwent Bobby Van, funded by Gwent Police and the five Gwent-area councils, but was re-branded the South Wales Bobby Van last year, so it could access more funds and provide a wider service.
The service made around 3,000 visits to Gwent homes a year, including ten referrals per week to victims of domestic abuse.
Gwent Police has begun a tendering process for a new service, but Bobby Van trustees said in a statement they were not invited to tender.
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