Duty calls on Christmas Day

The Bracknell News caught up with five of them to find out how they will be spending their day…

Faye Philp from Bracknell works at Pilgrim Hearts Easthampstead Baptist Church, one of seven homeless night shelters in the area.

The volunteer will be giving up her time in the evening from 5pm to 11pm and then come back on Boxing Day to support the breakfast set up.

She said: “I just volunteer because it is the right thing to do. We do it because we have a group of people that means something and we just want to help them.

There are more than 200 volunteers who work across seven night shelters providing homeless people with structure to what is described as their ‘chaotic lives’.

She added: “It is important for them to have routine as their lives are so chaotic, with no permanent home. The night shelter is their home so it is important for us all to respect that and make them feel safe.”

On Christmas Day, it will be a little different, with a Christmas lunch prepared with all of the trimmings, pudding with cream, Christmas crackers and some festive entertainment.

During the four months the night shelter isn’t operating, the homeless people have a chance to try and get their lives on track by seeking support with housing and seeking employment.

If you're out drinking and see a people trouble outside the local pub, there's a likely chance Leanne will know about it.

The Thames Valley Police call handler and mum-of-one will be picking up the phone on the late shift from 4.30pm when people are most likely to be having a few drinks and getting 'rowdy' on Christmas Day.

Other types of crimes she gets the most calls for are altercations at pubs, burglaries and domestic abuse incidents.

Leanne said: “We get a lot of burglaries and it is incredibly sad this time of year. People go to see their families and they come back to their house broken into so we have to be empathetic to that person."

Police data shows 80 per cent of calls to 999 are not an emergency and from December 2018 to November 2019, the force received more than 1 million.

She added: "You do get weird calls, like last week someone called 999 to say they could not get £260 out of the cash machine. I think it is a waste of time.

“So it is important to think before you dial and give us a call when it is not urgent on 101.”

Whether you've had an accident cooking the Christmas turkey or feeling a little low and need some help, the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) Team will know all about it.

Heather Smith will be in charge of the Ambulance Service ’s Bronze Command, co-ordinating paramedics and emergency responses across Bracknell, Reading and Newbury.

Christmas Day will feel a little more festive for her and the team as she will come in to cook 'the full works' with beans, eggs, bacon, sausages for breakfast.

The Bracknell mum said: “Initially it felt very different not to be at home for Christmas when I first started out but my family and friends are used to it and you get to have three different Christmas dinners, so what's not to love."

Her fellow colleague Nicola Wright explained the type of jobs she has covered over Christmas, but while chatting to her, she had to take three emergency phone calls, proving how busy the 'Winter pressure' can be.

Ms Wright said: “I will be working for 12 hours from 6pm to 6am on New Years Eve.

"A lot of elderly residents can be lonely this time year and sometimes they call, if we have that time we will pop the kettle on and make them smile for Christmas.

"The winter pressure has als started, there is an ageing population and elderly people get the flu and cant cope with it so it is busier."

Dogs, cats and horses also need attending to and there will be many working around the clock across the region to rescue neglected animals in crisis.

Watch Manager Tim Weekes from Bracknell Fire Station will be on duty on Christmas Day and explained how he'll be looking after families on the day, expecting up to five emergency calls on the day.

He said: "Sometimes it can be challenging because you’re not at home with your family, but we know that we are all in the same boat and try and have a bit of fun to help us through.

"The Service is like a second family to me and everyone that I work with is great so it makes it a lot easier."

Sadly, Tim attended a house fire last year where a family's Christmas tree caught fire.

He added: "A family of four had just opened all their presents and were upstairs getting ready for their Christmas morning walk, which they did every year.

"They put the lights on before they went upstairs to get ready and a faulty wire in the lights caused the tree to ignite.

"Sadly, the fire destroyed most the lounge, which included all the newly opened presents and the rest of downstairs was badly smoke damaged. As you can imagine they were all very upset and was not the Christmas that they were hoping for."