Summer Safety Fest 2025 brings positive change to Milford Marina

Running in the afternoon under the bridge - a location previously identified as a hotspot for anti-social behaviour (ASB) - the event brought together young people, families, and a wide network of partners to promote safety, wellbeing, and positive choices ahead of the summer holidays for young people.

Organised as part of Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week (30th June–6th July) by ASB Youth Worker Taylor Trueman, the event responded directly to local concerns about behaviours such as jumping into the water, theft, assaults and alcohol-related disorder.

By engaging young people in a known hotspot at a time when ASB tends to peak, the aim was to interrupt negative patterns and create a safe, inclusive environment filled with positive alternatives.

The success of the event relied on collaboration between a wide range of agencies:

• Pembrokeshire Youth Services (Organiser)
• Port of Milford Haven
• Dyfed-Powys Police
• MAWW Fire and Rescue Service
• Megan’s Starr Foundation
• Milford Youth Matters
• Choices
• DDAS and Cyfle Cymru
• RNLI
• McDonald’s
• Pure West Radio

Activities included water safety workshops, mental health support, substance misuse guidance, ASB awareness education, and fire safety sessions.

Young people also enjoyed interactive games and creative engagement activities run by local youth services. Around 45 young people attended throughout the afternoon.

Stakeholders spoke positively about the day’s impact and the meaningful connections it enabled.

Sean Seymour-Davies, Community Youth Worker at Milford Haven Youth Centre, said: “The Summer Safety Fest was a well-organised event that provided an excellent platform to showcase some of the many support services available for young people and families in the Milford Haven community.

“With the end of term fast approaching, it’s essential that young people are informed about the importance of keeping themselves safe while out in the hot sun all day and potentially engaging in cold water swimming or jumping.

“It’s also vital that they are aware of the support services available should they need advice or guidance during the holidays. With each organisation having busy summer programmes planned, there are some great opportunities for young people to get involved in youth sessions, projects, trips, and activities that can help build their confidence, provide opportunities to make new friends, work through challenges, and enjoy positive experiences.”

Emily Jones, Stakeholder Engagement Lead for Port of Milford Haven, said: "Participating in the Summer Safety Fest was a really valuable experience. The event provided an excellent platform for the Port of Milford Haven and other local organisations to share important messages of safety, wellbeing and awareness, with enthusiastic engagement from many young people and members of the wider community.

“These initiatives play an essential role in helping to ensure young people feel safe, supported and empowered; it was great to see so many local organisations working together to promote key safety messages in such an engaging and approachable way."

Scott Jenkins, Substance Misuse Support Worker at Choices, added: “The event was a great success, and it was great to speak to members of the community.

“Choices were able to provide young people and their families with information on substances, as well as network with other services in the area. Young people showed a great interest in the Choices stand, and we hope they took home some useful information to keep themselves safe.”

A Case Manager from Pembrokeshire Youth Justice Team said: “I took a young person to the event, and it was brilliant to see him engaging with all the different agencies involved - especially the police. The officers knew the young person well, and he did not have a good relationship with them. At the event, they spent time with him in a positive setting, and his attitude towards them soon changed. This led to him apologising for his past behaviour, and I would hope he will now have better interactions with them in the future.”

Taylor Trueman, ASB Youth Worker and Organiser of the event,:

“The Summer Safety Fest demonstrated how coordinated, local collaboration can make a powerful difference in improving safety, creating opportunities, and strengthening engagement with young people in the community. Thank you to all the agencies involved - I hope this is the first of many collaborative projects for young people in Milford Haven.”

Media partner Pure West Radio supported the event through coverage and promotion, helping attract public interest and amplify safety messages across social media and local platforms.

The positive momentum continues beyond the event itself, where agencies who attended are working towards future collaborative projects and programmes for young people and the wider community.