GLASGOW Street Pastors are now operating from Glasgow Central Station to help boozy passengers who have had too much alcohol on a night out.

The voluntary group are based in the city’s busiest stations at weekends as part of a move initiated by British Transport Police.

Currently, transport cops have to deal with drunk passengers who are prevented from travelling on trains for safety reasons.

Under the initiative, those passengers can be handed over to the street pastors, who can look after them while they sober up.

PC Caroline Irving, who is a British Transport Police officer based at Glasgow Central, said: “In Central Station, we deal with a lot of concerns for welfare. If someone has had too much to drink, they are turned away from the barrier because they are not fit to travel on the train.

“This means that police officers have to then look after them and we could be sitting for hours waiting on someone coming to collect them.”

She added: “We spoke to Glasgow Street Pastors who suggested they could come into the station which Network Rail Agreed.”

Glasgow Street Pastors are based at the disability point in the station between the hours of 10.30pm to 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.

They began volunteering in the station on Friday and they will offer the service they are renown for in the city including handing out flip flops to ladies with sore feet who have wore high heels on a night out or providing a charger service to those who have no battery left in their mobile phone and need to contact someone to get home.

The move, however, will most importantly allow transport cops to deal with other incidents.

PC Irving said: “Allowing Glasgow Street Pastors into the station will free police officers up. If we are looking after someone who has had too much drink and we get a call in to attend incident such as a fight on the platform, we can’t just leave them.

“We need to call officers from response to come in and they will not be at the incident immediately.”

She added: “But if someone is on their own and drunk, they are allowed on the train because they could fall off the platform. So we understand why barrier staff make that judgement call not to allow them to travel.”

Once the station closes at around 1am, anyone who is in the care of the streets pastors will then be taken onto the city’s safe zone at the St George’s Tron Church on Buchanan Street until someone comes to collect them to take them home.

PC Irving said: “This service will be for people who have too much to drink, been refused travel and have no other options.

“Some people just need time to get some water to sober up and this service will help do this.”

She added: “This is a first for Glasgow Central and the weekends can be so full on.

“I think it is one of the best thing’s to happen to Glasgow Central station and it will keep a lot of people safe.”

Stuart Crawford, co-ordinator of Glasgow Street Pastors, added: I was delighted when PC Caroline Irving got in touch to ask if Glasgow Street Pastors could offer assistance within the station.

“For nearly 10 years we have had teams patrolling on the city centre streets and the opportunity to have volunteers within the station is a new and exciting development for us.

“Our team will offer the same support as we do for people on the streets who may have become vulnerable.

“It’s a privilege for Street Pastors to work with other agencies like British Transport Police and Network Rail, who are also concerned for the wellbeing of people using the night time economy of Glasgow.”