A NEW scheme was launched yesterday (Thursday) which will set community spirits soaring and unite neighbourhoods across South Lakeland.

The Friends and Neighbours Scheme, supported by The Westmorland Gazette, will form a network of volunteers who are prepared to offer their time to neighbours who need a helping hand, reports Andy Bloxham.

The scheme is the brainchild of Kendal Mayor Marilyn Molloy who felt more could be done to help vulnerable people.

"I want to get to the grass roots of communities," said Coun Molloy. "There's a community spirit out there but there aren't any ways for people to tap into it without feeling like busybodies or making demands on people around them."

She added that she wanted people to feel more secure and breach the age divide. "Communities are much stronger when they are working together and talking to each other."

Residents of a few streets will form a hub of volunteers with a named co-ordinator at the centre. The co-ordinator will link the helpers with those in need of small favours such as taking their children to school or walking their dog.

The Westmorland Gazette is central to the initiative through its website service CommuniGate, which is available free to non-profit groups.

The scheme's pilot group on Greenside, in Kendal, already has a CommuniGate website at www.communigate.co.uk/lakes/greenside.

The site features an information page, a guest book, a message board and a helpers list, all of which make it easier for the co-ordinator to do his job and makes the scheme run more smoothly.

Coun Molloy said: "I'm extremely grateful for all the support The Westmorland Gazette has given me, not only have I had its support but also suggestions of what may be done to help."

Charities, police, and schools are among the many who have welcomed the scheme.

Jeremy Richardson, information services manager of Age Concern South Lakeland, said Friends and Neighbours could, through CommuniGate, tell people exactly what help was out there.

"There are isolated people in Kendal with nobody to help them. All their friends are equally frail and elderly. The rural locations are possibly worse. Not only are they socially isolated but they are also isolated by remoteness," he said.

"This is a one-stop shop for information and advice and if it can help to make these people less socially excluded and less vulnerable, it would be wonderful."

Brenda Sykes, of the South Lakeland Carers Association, said: "It can actually make a big difference in people's lives when they know there's someone there."

Peter Herne, general manager of CancerCare North Lancashire and South Lakeland, said: "The idea is brilliant. I could see the awareness of our own services being made available to anyone doing the co-ordination."

Jennie Draper, of the South Lakeland Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, said: "I think it's a good thing and worth supporting."

She added the scheme could help build and maintain links between the younger and older generations in the community.

Kendal police Inspector Ian Carruthers said the scheme could help people struggling to cope with the demands of everyday life from slipping into petty crime.

"I think the scheme will make people feel safer and more valued," he said. "It could work on a preventative level, with people keeping an eye on other people's houses, and may deter people from going off the rails."

Kendal head teacher Stephen Wilkinson, of Queen Katherine School, said the scheme tied in very neatly with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards' community service requirements and part of the national curriculum.

He said there should be no shortage of help on offer: "We've got literally dozens of students looking for things to do as far as voluntary service is concerned."

Anyone interested in setting up their own group should contact 01539-773180. For website advice contact The Westmorland Gazette's web editor Kate Whiteside on 01539 710183 or e-mail her at kate.whiteside@kendal.newsquest.co.uk.