Morebus continues support for Bournemouth Town Pastors 

Morebus is continuing its support for Bournemouth Town Pastors, a service aimed at helping those who find themselves in need of emotional or practical support while on weekend nights out.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the operator was providing complimentary transport across Bournemouth, so the Pastors could help keep late night revellers safe and sound.

Now the town is beginning to return to normal, Morebus has re-instated the partnership.

The Pastors are Christian volunteers who go out onto the streets, listening, talking and providing practical support to those in need.

Clair Walker. of Morebus, said: “Bournemouth has always been a popular destination among visitors and local people – not only during the day, but in the evening too.

“This is most certainly the case, now that bars, restaurants and nightclubs have re-opened.

“The atmosphere here has never been better, and many people are experiencing nights to remember once again.

“But there are times when some need the kind of support offered by Town Pastors – and they do a wonderful job here.

“They offer all kinds of support – from just offering a friendly ear, to providing extra assistance and advice.

“The Pastors cover a large area over the course of the weekend, so we’re delighted to be helping them in their endeavours by allowing them to travel across our network free-of-charge.”

Garry McDermott, from Bournemouth Town Pastors, said: “Since lockdown restrictions were eased, we’ve seen a tremendous upturn in the number of people enjoying themselves here – and we’re always on hand to help those in need, wherever necessary.

“We’d like to thank Morebus for this wonderful gesture –  allowing us to freely move around the town to help as many people as possible here.

“Although we are a group made up of local Christians, this isn’t about religion – it’s about providing support to anyone who needs it, regardless of faith.

“Thanks to Morebus, we’ll be able to cover greater distances and hopefully provide  more comprehensive support here in Bournemouth.”

• For more information about Bournemouth Town Pastors, please email chrismcdermott@bournemouthtownpastors.org.uk

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Beachside community join forces to bring extra level of security

Daren Deadman, Owner, The Boat Cafe (centre) with Ellie Uden and Simon Mitchell of Real World Services.

A number of Weymouth’s beachside businesses have joined forces with a security provider to bring an extra level of safety to their seafront premises.

The group, led by Daren Deadman, owner of The Boat Cafe, one of Weymouth’s most recognised cafes, felt it would make sense to work with Real World Services during what is one of the resort’s busiest summer seasons in decades.

The  business is currently appointed as Weymouth Town Council’s security provider.

It works in conjunction with other surrounding beach-based businesses, including the donkey rides, helter-skelter, trampolines and funfair rides, and has developed a comprehensive security and safety coverage plan that is now in place.

Daren said: “Since the Covid restrictions have eased, we have seen visitor numbers go through the roof.

“As a group of businesses, we saw the good work that Real World Services’ beach security patrols were doing in conjunction with Weymouth Town Council’s beach team.

“We thought it would make sense to see if they could work with us too.

“We are proud to be working with such a professional and successful local security company as Real World Services in these very busy times.”

Paul Roberts, Head of Security Operations at Real World Services, said: “Our SIA licensed seafront and beach patrol teams have had an extremely busy summer working in conjunction with the Weymouth beach management team and Community Support Officers, advising and assisting the high volume of visitors to the seafront and beach areas on seafront byelaws in a ‘soft enforcement’ role.

“It is great to be working with Daren and the businesses surrounding The Boat Cafe who approached us to see how we could extend our services to cover and support them.

“The collaboration with the beachside business community has resulted in us expanding our workforce and recruiting additional local security personnel to support this new contract.

“If anyone is interested in a career in security, please send us your CV to info@realworldservices.com .”

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Chief Financial Officer appointed at Wessex Internet

Wessex Internet, the Dorset-based rural Internet Service Provider (ISP), has appointed Rob Dawson as Chief Financial Officer as it strengthens its leadership team to deliver ambitious growth plans.

An experienced finance professional, he’s had an 18 year career spanning investment banking and senior finance roles in multiple sectors including healthcare, financial services and hospitality.

Most recently he was Group CFO at Rare Restaurants, which includes the Gaucho and M brands.

As well as leading the wider finance team, Rob, pictured left, will be responsible for all aspects of financial planning and strategy to accelerate the company’s roll out of full fibre networks across Dorset, Wiltshire and South Somerset.

Hector Gibson Fleming, Chief Executive Officer, said: “I am delighted to welcome Rob to the business.

“While we’ve significantly scaled our business in the past year, including doubling the number of employees we have, it’s really just the start.

“We’re entering a significant five-year period of investment to rapidly expand our full fibre network to rural communities as quickly as we can.

“Rob’s expertise in developing and executing growth strategies is an invaluable addition to the management team and will be vital to taking our business to the next level.”

Rob said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Wessex Internet at such an exciting time.

“Raised in Dorset, the pull of the area eventually got the better of me, and I’m really excited by the company’s mission to ensure local rural communities aren’t left behind in race to roll out ultrafast broadband.

“The business has transformed in the past two years and has recently been awarded two publicly funded network deployment contracts in Dorset and South Somerset.

“This is a fantastic base to build from and I look forward to working with the leadership team, and my new colleagues, to really accelerate our growth and ensure Wessex Internet is the leader for full fibre broadband in our area.”