Members of the Irlam community gathered to view vintage emergency vehicles at an event organised to bring people together and to support Irlam Rotary club.
The vehicles were displayed on Saturday November 12 in Lidl carpark.
Mark Fitzgerald, a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for Greater Manchester Police, has been helping to put events like these together since he first became an officer 20 years ago.
Officer Fitzgerald, who was Manchester’s first PCSO, said: “The idea of one of these events is to get the community together because our role as being a community support officer is being out visible on the streets and by putting community events together it builds bridges with the public.”
These events are held every few months and have proven to be popular with the Irlam community.
Mark stated that vintage vehicles are used because they are eye catching and it’s a good conversation starter as it will lead to members of the community being aware of who their local police are, and who they can turn to in times of need
He also often goes into local schools as a way of reaching the community when they’re younger and to teach them that even if they don’t get the best education or grades, they can still go on to get the job they want and be successful.
Paul Fairclough also helped put the event together and said he got involved with the events five years ago when he bought a vintage police car. His father was also a member of the police, so the events mean a lot to him.
Mr Fairclough said: “We’ve now started this year taking them out as therapy cars to people with dementia because they bring back memories.”
This last vintage vehicle event for the year will be taking place on Saturday December 10, but more will be happening in 2023. For updates follow “Preserved and classic vehicle events” on Twitter
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