Fatal shooting brings community together

RESIDENTS FORM GRASSROOTS GROUP IN WAKE OF 60- YEAR OLD S TRAGIC DEATH

- By KALI LINDSAY

A GROUP set up following the fatal shooting of a County Durham man is focused on transforming lives in the community. Residents in South Moor were left shaken and shocked following the death of Barry Dawson in April this year.

In the wake of the tragedy, residents formed the grassroots group ‘South Moor Together’ which focuses on healing, pride and community streets, with members hoping it will make a difference by reducing crime, antisocial behaviour and fly-tipping.

Jake Guthrie, who is the deputy coordinator of the group, said: “We exist to foster community spirit and connection and spirit in a respectful way. We just wanted to develop a bit more of a positive outlook towards our area.”

Jake said this was taking shape in a number of ways from nightly walks, to litter picks and holding community events. He said: “What we do now, we head out from Sunday to Thursday for two hours at nighttime and we do a little bit of litter picking and try to build a bit of community cohesion.