Over 300 local children enjoyed a fun-filled summer holiday activity programme, thanks in part to funding from Halton Housing.

The Kops ‘n’ Kids programme, launched in 2019, is a five-week summer scheme for children aged 8-16, created and run by local police officers, PCSOs from Cheshire Police, and Active Halton Leisure, with support from partners like Halton Housing.

Designed to engage local kids through sports like football and badminton, the programme also helps them build friendships and positive connections with police officers and community organisations.

This year, Halton Housing contributed £750, which went towards purchasing sports equipment and uniforms.

Organiser of and Cheshire Police PC Dan Butler said: “A positive story for me this year, was that we had a young lad who is only eight years old coming to join us for the first time. When he started to attend the event, he came wearing noise cancelling headphones and was nervous around new people. However, by the end of the event, we could all see a clear change in his confidence and the noise cancelling headphones were left at home after a few sessions. The boy's mother told us that she was so happy with his progression and with how much his confidence had grown.

We have had at least 15 of these children that have attended every single day of these events over the last three years.

As the organiser, I really appreciated Halton Housing’s support with funding allowing us to obtain new equipment and incorporate different sports as part of this year's event.”