Hartlepool Town Pastors

22/03/2026

Tonight’s team were Terry, Fay, Helen, Kim and Tracy. To say that tonight was eventful would be an understatement. We had some fabulous conversations and connections with people but at times it felt like we were in the middle of the town pastors training manual. We were approached by a couple of folks who lived in the same street as one of our pastors and were interested in volunteering. We hope they read this to see what we get up to. We gave out lots of water and foil blankets tonight to several people. We swept up lots of glass and gave out several pairs of flip flops. We kept checking in on T.. who was sleeping rough on a bench outside the civic.

We were alerted to someone taking inappropriate pictures of young ladies and passed those concerns on to the relevant people.

We observed a fight in Church Square and asked for help once the fight began to escalate. Thankfully everyone calmed down and walked away.

We were alerted by pub staff to a gentleman experiencing some health issues . A quick chat reassured that he was surrounded by a great group of friends and relatives who’d arranged transport to get him home or checked out.

We cleared lots of broken glass.

Terry lent his hat to a young man who desperately wanted his photo taken wearing it.

We were alerted by CCTV to an unconscious man in York Road . We managed to get him back on his feet but he point blank would not engage with the team . He went for a wander walking straight into the underground shutters , came back and ended up with two young men going into a late night off licence. We went well off our patch trying to safeguard him but he was determined he was ok despite playing street furniture pinball.

We witnessed a man being ejected from a pub and alerted police to the fact he’d banged his head severely when he fell backwards.

That police incident seemed to escalate with two vans three cars and the dog section all putting in an appearance.

As if that wasn’t enough Terry had a close encounter with a police car with blues and twos at the traffic lights…. Same place his mum did something similar but that’s a tale for another day. As always a privilege to shepherd the least , the last, the lost and the lonely. Worth mentioning all the good folks of Hartlepool who did try to act as peacemakers. And now we know why Terry is not allowed to take a break from his town pastors duties. He does all his catching up in a single night…

And so to bed!

21/03/2026

We have a team out tonight. Stop us for a chat , lollipops, flip flops or water. Hoping you won’t need our first aid kit or waterproof ponchos

20/01/2026

Saturday night saw our first team out for 2026. The team found several licenses and bank cards and dropped them off at the addresses on the licences. The team leader also dropped a mobile phone and bank card at the police station on Sunday

The team also dealt with a case of suspecting spiking of drinks.

A reminder to all. Please keep an eye on your belongings and make sure you keep your drinks safe. Sadly not everyone is as honest or honourable as a town pastor.

21/12/2025

Update on the phone we were handed last night. We passed this to Cleveland Police as the owner J Barton appears to live in Seaham which is too far for us to travel and drop off. So if anyone knows this person, let
Them know

21/12/2025

Hartlepool town pastors have been handed a phone that we think might belong to a Jack or John Barton. Let us know if this is you. We will try and return it tomorrow. Alternatively we’ll hand it in at Hartlepool Police station.

20/12/2025

Tonight is the last 2025 wandering for town pastors. Do stop the team for a chat for lollipops , foil blankets, flip flops, bottles of water or a chat. Here’s hoping for a fun and festive night.

09/12/2025

As the year draws to a close our chair of trustees Terry Hegarty would like to thank all those who have supported our work across the year. It will be a bit of a long post as it’s been a busy, amazing and humbling year.

First thanks go to our amazing street volunteers who head out into the cold wet or sometimes hot night time economy to care for folks in difficulties and our trustees and team leaders who work away behind the scenes. Particular thanks go to Norman Bell our amazing fundraiser who had to step down this year and to our “retired” administrator John Bailey who came off the bench briefly to help us complete our charity paperwork on time.

Second goes to the folks at Bovis House Poolie Time who have allowed us to use their facilities, then Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland for their financial support, training opportunities and encouragement. Our thoughts are with the staff who face an uncertain future.

Thanks also to Hartlepool Borough Council’s CCTV team, the neighbourhood safety team and licensing team for their support and encouragement. Also Cleveland Police for their support and advice and Jonathan Brash MP for Hartlepool for his kind words and encouragement.

Terry would also like to offer his personal thanks to the PFC Trust for the unexpected award and donation as a result of his being awarded the Hartlepool Heroes Community Champion Award.

We have also been fortunate in being invited to the The Northern School Of Art Freshers Week and Safety Week to offer advice on personal safety and talk about our work. It’s been a real privilege to meet some of our very talented young students.

We closed off our speaking engagements this year with a fantastic invitation to speak at the Rotary Club annual Message Dinner. One of our trustees Ken Shepherd took on that enjoyable task. Many thanks for making him so welcome and for the hospitality and very kind donation.

Our final thanks go all the folks we encounter in the night time economy, the door teams taxi drivers and the folks out having fun . You make what we do a real pleasure.

So here’s the Christmas message we shared with the Rotary Club…. The role of a street angel and what we are called to do is at its simplest to love the unloved.

A prayer we use before going on to the streets is Lord, help us to reach the least, the last , the lost and the lonely.

These are the people you might not want sitting around your Christmas dinner table , the homeless , the drunk, the angry, the sad, the refugees, the bereaved, the addicted and the sometimes broken.

Remember Jesus’s own family spent the first few months of his life fleeing persecution. Their very first act after leaving the stable where he was born was to flee to Egypt. Matthew 2:13-14.

Throughout the ministry of Jesus he spent time with all the people society said he should not, the demon possessed , the lepers , the tax collectors, soldiers, fishermen (they smelt of fish) the smelly tanners (they smelt of wee!), the people the authorities described as unclean, the unmarried women, the prostitutes and the foreigners and non believers .

The good news is that you don’t need anything special to follow Jesus’s example or even to enter Gods kingdom. One of my favourite mini sermons is about a man found wandering in heaven, the saints and angels crowd around and ask him “Do you know your Bible?” “Nope” he replies, “have you lived a good life?, “Nope” he replies, “Are you kind?” “Nope” he says again. “Who are you and how in heaven did you get in here?” The angels ask “I’m just a thief” he replies “and the man on the middle cross said I could come in.”

I’d like to finish with a simple reflection that sums up what we do as town pastors or street angels . But broader and more importantly it’s a code for life and something I see in the work and ambitions of so many people involved in charity work across our fantastic town.

It’s a quote from Hebrews 13:2
“ Hebrews 13:2 NIV
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

This street angel thanks you all for your Hartlepool hospitality.

17/11/2025

We’re at the Northern School of Art safety event today. Stop and have a chat if you’re there.

17/11/2025

18/10/2025

As we head towards celebrating 20 years of the Street Angels movement across the country here’s some photos courtesy of ROC Angels . It’s an easy principle to understand, Love the person in front of you.

12/10/2025

We had two teams last night and we needed them. Our team members were Malcolm, Terry W and Terry H, Alex, Kim, Fay, Tracy and Helen .

The need for assistance started before we’d even got feet on the street when we were contacted by one of our partner organisations who alerted us to someone in difficulty. We sent one team straight to them. They provided some blankets to allow this person some warmth as they needed to sleep out on the street. We know the reasons as to why this was the only option available so we kept checking this person through the night.

A constant nuisance through the night was a group of three 13 year olds who were intent on causing chaos. They had absolutely no idea of the danger they put themselves in aggravating people who’ve had a drink. Initially we did try to engage and befriend but when they asked for a bottle of water and then promptly threw it at the Skyy door team we had to take a more closed approach. They were still out at 3 am.

We gave out so many pairs of flip flops we ran out. We had some great conversations with people,. We also had one of the oddest insults shouted at us “ Conservation nonces!!” Any ideas on that one?

We also met some colleagues of our ex volunteer Chris and they gave us glowing reports on him.

We had both teams engage with a particular couple in different places as we had some worries but eventually came away reassured.

The final incident of the night was quite complex . We were approached by someone carrying a bag of medication. There been some problems with an incident at home and they’d taken all the meds out of the house for safety. They had already engaged with the police but were now looking for help finding a hotel at 3am! Terry H had to explain that due to things like Operation Makesafe most hotels won’t take walk ins or cash bookings.

As the person was also claiming some medical issues, we did also suggest A&E and Urgent Care as options. We eventually decided on sending a team with them to a particular smaller hotel to see if they could help.

When the teams rejoined it turned out that the person had eventually revealed they had a car near the night time economy and opted to stay in the car for the night. One of our more unusual nights. Some unorthodox solutions .

Teams finally got off the streets at 3:40 am. For some of us we won’t get much sleep as we have church engagements such as carrying out baptisms or working sound and visuals this morning.

As always good fun keeping folks safe in Hartlepool

28/09/2025

Tonight’s team playing their part in Pool Together was Terry , Kim Helen and Tracy. A wet night where we cleared up a lot of broken glass , stood calming people down whilst fights and arguments could have escalated. Lots of great conversations , gave out lots of flip flops, finished the night charging up an ex squaddies phone for him . He very kindly came for a wander with us and told us all about his experience as a musician in the army. Thanks also to the lovely lads and lasses who gave us a donation to help us buy more supplies. Always a pleasure and we finished just after 3am