Heddlu Bach launch road safety rap video

School children from Blaenau Gwent have launched a rap video to encourage other pupils and their families to be more aware of road safety.

The pupils, who are members of Blaen-Y-Cwm Primary School’s Heddlu Bach Mini Police, worked with their neighbourhood policing team and local radio station to produce a 2 minute rap that highlights the dangers of poor road safety.

The video, funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Gwent, promotes messages including safe parking and speed awareness.

Speaking after the first viewing of their video, Heddlu Bach officers Alfie, Tyler, Lilli and Kelsie said the main reason they made the video was to keep children safe: “We are always seeing parents parking really badly outside of our school which makes us scared that someone will one day get hurt.

“By creating this video, we want to raise awareness of what could happen when people park badly, or when children and parents get distracted.”

Local Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) Linzi Nicholls and Joanne Robins supported the Heddlu Bach in their latest project, working with the group to formulate their campaign.

PCSO Robbins said: “From the very start, the children said parking at their school was a concern for them. We worked with them to design and issue mock parking tickets to parents who were parking dangerously. The group then agreed they wanted to create a video.”

The project turned into a wider community initiative, with the lyrics to the rap being written by PCSO Nicholls and local radio station, BGfm, assisting in the production of the video.

Steve Bower, sustainability manager at BGfm said: “We at BGfm were thrilled to support the children in this project. The Heddlu Bach led the project throughout, working with us to create the video storyboard, audio and final film.”

After viewing the finished video, Police and Crime Commissioner, Jeff Cuthbert praised the youngsters on their hard work: “I am delighted to have supported this project which aims to create a safer, more pleasant environment for pupils.

“This is a clear message from your children that they want you to think carefully about your driving habits in order to keep them, and others around them safe.”

You can view the video on the OPCC’s YouTube page.