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Anti-Drugs March a Success

IT MAY have been the first anti-drugs march through Stranraer but it will not be the last - that is the message from the organisers of Saturday's successful protest.

After the march, one of the organisers told the "Free Press"

"I am absolutely over the moon with the way things have gone. "I will see everyone again in three months when we have even more people out on the streets".

Penny Halliday, who also helped organise the march added

"The community has come together today as a family. We are taking the first step to find a way out of the mess we and our families find ourselves in".

Billy Mitchell is the manager of the Small Towns Initiative which aims to promote Stranraer, Cairnryan and Portpatrick.
He said:

"The drugs issue is the biggest single issue facing Stranraer. We must try to lift the burden which drugs place on our community. Unless we do this Stranraer is never going to flourish".

Marchers had gathered at Stranraer's Breastwork on a day which had the best weather the organisers could have hoped for.

As television crews looked on, a crowd estimated at over 200 left for a half-hour circuit through the town centre.

Local taxi drivers led the procession and a police motorcycle outrider was drafted in from Dumfries to ensure safe passage through the streets.

A healthy police presence marshalled the protesters but the whole event passed with no suggestion of trouble.