A SUCCESSFUL road safety campaign which reaches hundreds of Wee County teenagers each year is under threat due to a lack of funding.

The Safe Drive Stay Alive initiative has been operating across the Forth Valley area for the past 10 years, and interacting with an estimated 40,000 young people in that time.

Each year, the Central Safe Drive group invites fourth year pupils from every high school in Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Falkirk to a free awareness show.

From there, they present to the young audience the harrowing reality of dangerous driving and the lasting impact it can have on people and communities.

But despite its success in tackling the number of young people killed or seriously injured on the roads, the programme may be stopped as of next year.

In previous years, the councils in Clacks, Stirling and Falkirk all helped to fund the week-long project, but have since had to cut their contributions.

Central Safe Drive now face the prospect of having to raise most of the £23,000 needed to fund the initiative themselves and are hoping for benefactors to come forward.

Alan Faulds, the local area liaison officer with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Alloa and Stirling and chair of the group, has issued an impassioned plea for support.

He told the Advertiser: “It’s a tragedy, it really is. We know this programme works because there hasn’t been a road death within our target audience for six years.

“We’re not naive to think this programme is the only thing responsible for that, but you would be a fool to say it wasn’t making a big contribution.

“Safe Drive has a massive impact on young people’s perspectives of driving on the road. They remember everything about the show.

“It is hard hitting, no doubt about it. In some instances we’ve had pupils going home maybe a little upset, with parents calling up asking why we are doing this to their children.

“But in 10 years we have never had a complaint from a parent that has seen the show because they totally get what we are trying to do.”

The Central Safe Drive shows are completely free for all who attend and even the buses are laid on to ensure no fourth year pupil misses out.

This year, fifth years from Dollar Academy and Balfron High School will be going as they were unable to attend last year.

But the money needed to put on the show is becoming harder and harder to source with councils facing major cuts to their budgets.

Mr Faulds added: “This year has been so hard to raise the money. The three councils around here used to help, but if it’s a choice between funding us and firing someone, then I can appreciate the position they are in.

“We have applied for grants and we have our fingers crossed, but we’re hoping people, groups or businesses might come forward to help keep us going.

“We have a constituted trust so anyone who does help fund us will know the money is going only to this programme, which is so important.

"My biggest fear is we have to stop and then we start to see the number of accidents creep up again.

“And, God forbid, what happens if there are people killed in road accidents? They’ll ask if there was something we could have done.

“Well there is something – something that does make a difference – but if no-one is able to fund it then it will have to stop.”