Head's pride at pupils in Stranger Danger alert

THE head teacher of a Yeovil school has spoken of his pride at how pupils have coped in the glare of unwanted attention – but has urged parents to remind their children about the importance of Stranger Danger.

Richard Culham, of Birchfield Primary School, told the Yeovil Press yesterday (Monday, October 21, 2013) that he had never been prouder of his pupils than he had been during the last few weeks following two incidents in which young children were approached by men in the adjoining Birchfield Park.

Two incidents happened within 45 minutes of each other on the afternoon of Saturday, September 28, at BirchfieldPark and then there was a third incident on Monday, Spetember 30, at Rosebery Avenue.

Another alleged incident last Friday (October 18, 2013) in the Birchfield area thankfully turned out to be a false alarm.

But again the Birchfield community was put on alert in the fear that a possible child abductor was roaming the area.

Mr Culham had described recent events in Birchfield Park as “horrible” and added that he hoped the situation was brought to a “speedy conclusion.”

But he said that he was very proud of the way the pupils had coped with the unwelcome attention on their community.

“School has successfully continued as we would all want,” he said. “The vast majority of our children behaved as normal, showing respect and understanding for the difficult situation.

“I think that this is to their credit and we should all feel proud of them. We are reassured that they feel safe here at school.”

Mr Culham told the Yeovil Press that in a strange way the incidents had “brought strength out of adversity” as it had pulled the school community together, made it stronger and enhanced the feeling of safety for pupils while in school.

He has continued to be in discussions with police about recent events and has been told that officers – uniformed and plain-clothes - will continue to patrol the Birchfield Park area.

“The police were keen to reassure everyone that they are taking the investigations very seriously,” he said.

“They are also keen for anyone with any further information to contact them on 101. If you have any worries or sense of danger please phone 999.”

Mr Culham said it was also important for parents to repeat their previous warnings to their children about the importance of Stranger Danger.

“You can’t tell a child enough times about the importance of not talking to strangers,” he said.

PHOTO: Police are to continue patrols in the Birchfield Park area of Yeovil following incidents involving men approaching young children.

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