Efforts to reduce road deaths in Cumbria and the success of a Barrow based high-tech consumer advice centre, will come under scrutiny later this week.
On Wednesday 31 January, members of the county council's Safe and Secure Communities Scrutiny Panel will be in Barrow to see first hand how a hard-hitting film is being used to educate young people about the dangers of reckless driving.
Members of the media are invited to join councillors at Barrow Fire Station at 12:45pm as they witness a hard-hitting film which is shown by Cumbria's Fire & Rescue Service in schools and colleges around the county in an effort to drive home the graphic consequences of dangerous driving.
Among young people, road collisions are the most common cause of accidental death with 17-year-old male drivers seven times more likely to be involved in an accident than other age groups.
At 1:30pm on the same day, members of the media can join the councillors as they tour the town's nearby Consumer Direct advice centre. Here they will see how call-centre advisers deal with thousands of calls each week on issues ranging from overcharging to reporting dishonest traders and scams.
Set-up by Cumbria County Council and Agilisys Ltd, the Office of Fair Trading funded contact centre has already taken 200,000 calls and created 53 local jobs with more expected to follow.
ENDS
Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337