OBE for Street Pastors founder

Les Isaac has received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his work with Street Pastors.

Street Pastors was started by Rev Isaac in Brixton in 2003 to provide friendly assistance to revellers on a Friday and Saturday night.

The initiative proved to be a huge success, bringing down crime and curbing antisocial behaviour, as well as addressing problem of drunkenness in towns and city centres.

Street Pastors soon spread to other parts of London, before taking off in cities across England and the rest of the UK.

The model is a simple one, based on volunteers from local churches who patrol the streets in distinctive Street Pastor-branded jackets and baseball caps, between the hours of 10pm and 4am.

Volunteers have to be at least 18 years old and a church member but there is no upper age limit and volunteers have often included retirees and pensioners.