Written by Jacqui Broadbridge - Wiltshire Police 

The Bluez n Zuz disco celebrated its first anniversary on April 11 and continues to be one of the county's most successful events for youngsters.

The project has now expanded to two other areas that run on the same evening as the Marlborough event, which is held on the second Tuesday of every month, and almost 200 youngsters attended the three events, held in Marlborough, Tidworth and Calne.

Local supermarkets stepped in and kindly added to the 'eggcitement' of the event. Waitrose in Marlborough provided an Easter egg for each young person attending the Marlborough and Tidworth nightclubs and Sainsbury's in Calne provided an Easter egg for each of the young people at the Calne event.

The Marlborough event is held in a proper nightclub (Azuza, Hughenden Yard) with a soft drinks bar and DJ music. The nightclub organisers work closely with the Police to be able to provide the facilities that will keep the young people of Marlborough and the surrounding areas interested.

GWR have also shown an interest in the event with a reporter attending to interview the organiser and some of the young people. The interviews were in relation to UK Music Week, which looks at the way music gets people together and in the case of
Bluez n Zuz helps to break down barriers in the community. 

In February the event expanded to Calne and was run by some of the towns PCSOs. They have also worked within their community to gather support for the project. The Social Club (Old Football Club) provide their facilities free of charge and the TownCouncil have provided funding for the monthly disco.

March saw the launch of Bluez n Zuz at Tidworth. PC Chris Spackman is the project manager for the Tidworth event and has worked with the Tidworth Trust , CastledownSchool, Parnham Coaches and other partners to provide similar facilities at the Tidworth Leisure Centre . DJ Baz Reilly provides the kicking tunes for Tidworth free of charge, courtesy of Castledown Radio .

PC Emma Brown, who has worked with Calne and Tidworth to set up their events said:

'There has been fantastic support within Marlborough for this event and it has been so successful with the young people. When we were approached by Calne and Tidworthwith a view to expanding the project we thought it was an ideal opportunity to carry on the good work in other communities. The young people have a chance to have fun ina safe environment, and we get a chance to interact with them and work with the partnership agencies for the benefit of the whole community'.

The next Bluez n Zuz event for Marlborough, Tidworth and Calne will be held on May 9th.

The locations for the Bluez n Zuz events are as follows:

Marlborough - Azuza, Hughenden Yard, from 1830 - 2100

Tidworth - Leisure Centre, from 1900 - 2100

Calne - Social Club (Old Football Club), from 1900 - 2100

The entrance fee is £2.00 per person and the age range is 11 - 15 years.