The retired headteacher who walks the streets at night (and by day) to help keep communities safe

April 14, 2026

The retired headteacher who walks the streets at night (and by day) to help keep communities safe

By Ros Dodd

At 10pm on a Saturday night, when most retirees are thinking of going to bed, Fiona Covington-Mann is beginning a four-hour shift patrolling the streets of Newtown.

Fiona, from Tywyn, is a 'street pastor' - a trained church volunteer - and her job is to offer help, or simply a listening ear, to young people who might be vulnerable after a night out in the Powys town.

"Our mantra is 'to care, to listen and to help'," she explains. "We're often referred to as the fourth emergency service, and our strength is operating a 'softly, softly' approach. So, for example, we might get a call from the police to get a person home safely, which could mean phoning their parents to come and pick them up. We don't preach and we're not judgmental; we are just there to signpost, to offer practical support such as handing out flip-flops, water and first aid, and to listen - and there is a lot of listening involved."

Sometimes, that act of listening can save lives: On two occasions, Fiona has been able to talk someone down from one of Newtown's bridges over the River Severn.

Street Pastors is the most well-known of eight initiatives set up by Christian interdenominational organisation Ascension Trust, aimed at keep communities safe. It was launched in 2003 as a response to gang culture and the use of knives and guns. The scheme operates in towns and cities across the UK, as well as overseas. Each project works in tandem with the emergency services and local councils and is supported by local churches and community groups.

Since Covid, uniformed street pastors can be found on patrol during the daytime too, and from September, Fiona is likely to be a regular sight chatting to schoolchildren at Tywyn Railway Station after lessons finish for the day.

"We're in the process of setting up School Pastors; not because there is a problem, but because there might be a need. In every community there are vulnerable people, and unfortunately vulnerable people can be preyed upon. There's not a big drugs issue in Tywyn, but nevertheless drugs are around everywhere these days. So we'll be on the rail platform after school finishes, in case anyone wants to talk, and we'll also go into schools if we're invited."

Young farmers are another group that increasingly seem to need the services of Street Pastors.

"Newtown has fairly recently asked for day patrols on Tuesdays, which is market day, and we've also been asked to go into Welshpool livestock market," explains Fiona. "Since 2022, there have been 12 suicides within the Powys farming community, which is a very high number. Farming is isolating work - farmers can often be on a tractor on their own for hours on end - and Covid made things even more difficult. I think members of the farming community are becoming better at asking for help than they used to be. This year, we'll also be at the Royal Welsh Show again, where we've had a presence since 2018."

Last month, Newtown Street Pastors received an award from the High Sheriff of Powys in "recognition of great and valuable services to the community".

Fiona, who is organist at St Peter's Church, Aberdyfi, has been a street pastor since 2009, first in Northampton and then, after moving to Wales a decade ago, in Newtown.

"My family have always been devout Christians," she says. "One day in 2008, I was in Northampton with my son Jim and we went into a Christian bookshop where I saw a sign about street pastors. I thought it sounded interesting."

At the time, Fiona was headteacher at a special school in Milton Keynes, but was already thinking about what she'd do after she retired. "I knew I'd want to do something else, so I decided to put myself forward for street pastor training, which is quite intensive: you learn about the police, social services, youth and drug culture; it's not all Bible-based."

Having been involved with the Talyllyn Railway for many years, it felt natural for Fiona to move to Tywyn from Northamptonshire when she retired from teaching in 2016. "I'd been coming here for 24 years - we used to have a caravan at Rhydyronen - and it's because of the railway that I decided to settle here. It's also because of the railway that my son is the engineer he is today."

As well as providing board and lodging to railway volunteers, Fiona decided to continue her work as a street pastor "in order to give something back" to the community. In addition her regular volunteering, she is also a 'response pastor' - a street pastor who has received extra training to provide support to those affected by a national disaster or crisis. "I was at Grenfell Tower, the London Bridge attack and Manchester Arena bombing, all in 2017, and at the Southport stabbings in 2024. It's tough, because a lot of what we're doing is very emotional. At Grenfell Tower, I dealt with a man who had lost his wife and four of the his children in the fire."

Fiona says she's never been threatened or felt unsafe being out on the streets. "We don't go out on our own - there are three pastors in each patrol - and while we're out, 'prayer pastors' around the country pray for us. Having that backup is important to us and the work we do. I've definitely sat next to people who have had a weapon on them, but I've never felt personally threatened."

Being a street pastor can be challenging, but also very rewarding work, comments Fiona, who's one of three street pastors from Tywyn Baptist Church.

"I know we've helped people because we get a lot of messages of thanks. I remember once being called to a young chap who was worse for wear after going to a stag party in Shrewsbury, getting on the wrong train and ending up in Newtown instead of Manchester. We phoned his father and then looked after the lad until his dad arrived to collect him. The next day, the father messaged to thank us, saying that without our input he dreaded to think what might have happened to his son. He ended with: 'You lot are angels.' We're not - we're just ordinary people - but it's good to know that what we do really does make a difference."