Free flip-flops for drunk women
A Devon seaside resort is spending thousands of pounds of tax-payers' money on flip-flops - to help drunk women walk home.
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It's part of a £30,000 package of measures in Torbay which also includes free condoms and safe sex advice, reports The Times.
The Taxpayers' Alliance pressure group described the project as an "idiotic waste of money".
Spokesman Matthew Elliott said: "People don't pay taxes for drunk women to get free flip-flops, they want police to fight crime."
But clubbers welcomed the scheme, including Leanne Thomas, 21, who said: "I go out clubbing at the harbourside most weekends and I usually walk home barefooted because my heels hurt. I think it's a great idea."
The scheme, funded by the Home Office, is due to start next month in time for Christmas office party revellers, who pour out of the resorts clubs and bars in the early hours.
Officers will carry bags of the unisex flip-flops and will hand them to anyone who looks unsteady.
The rubber shoes, which bear printed messages about safe drinking and alcohol limits, will also be available free of charge from the council's "safe bus" on the harbourside.
They will be paid for by funding secured from the Home Office by Safer Communities Torbay, an alliance of local authority, police and health services.
Superintendent Chris Singer, head of Torbay police, said: "We're hopeful that this initiative will help protect dozens of women who are vulnerable to injury after a night out with friends."
-Nova
