WITH halloween only two weeks away, children are being discouraged from taking part in the traditional 'trick or treating'. A member of Callington's St Mary's Church, Mrs Gillian Beresford-Power (pictured) is distributing leaflets which people can place in their windows. It has the words 'Sorry , no trick or treat', and has the symbol of a witch on a broomstick on a red circle with a diagonal line across it. Mrs Beresford-Power says her campaign is aimed at helping the elderly and vulnerable who are sometimes frightened by knocks on their doors after dark, and can feel intimidated by the more unruly element which can be associated with trick or treating. 'If they feel protected by putting the leaflet in their window I will be very pleased,' she said. 'I am hoping my campaign will also help to keep otherwise unsupervised children off the streets, and to reduce trick or treating vandalism.' Mrs Beresford-Power's leaflets, which are available from Monday, can be collected from St Mary's Church or from the town council office. She says they are a unique Christian project in the midlands aimed at undermining the growing interest among young people in both Halloween and the occult. In that area a similar community campaign has gained support and recognition from schools, the police and OAP organisations. St Mary's Church has been running a popular 'All Souls' party as an alternative for the town's youngsters at Halloween for a number of years, which includes the traditional games such as apple bobbing. Callington police say they are supporting the advice Mrs Beresford-Power is giving and think it is a good idea to display the leaflets in windows where trick or treat callers are not welcome. 'We do not wish to discourage the fun side of Halloween,' said PC Nick Morris, 'just the annoying factors such as egg and flour throwing and some vandalism, and we will be patrolling the town district on the night. We would advise that people make sure their gates are securely closed, and that responsible adults accompany younger children who are out engaged in trick or treating after dark.' For Liskeard police, PC Mark Smith said that the Neighbourhood Beat Managers will be out in Liskeard and around the district over Halloween.
