21009-97STREET wardens whose scheme has been heralded one of the best in the country have no idea if it will exist in 10 months' time.

The Parks and Walcot wardens won high praise from the Office of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Swindon was picked to be the base for a regional National Vocational Qualification assessment centre for street wardens.

Street wardens patrol the area during the day, reporting vandalism and keeping an eye on the community. They are intended to tackle low-level anti-social behaviour.

But the team of nine does not know if the scheme will be operating after March 31, 2005, because no decision over next year's funding has been made and the initial Government funding, which was extended for a third year, will have run out.

Supervisor Chris Neville-Jones, who has won two Government awards for his work with the junior wardens, said: "They have put £205,000 aside for the new resource centre to train wardens from all over the southwest, but the ironic part is that the street wardens themselves do not know if they are going to be employed after March 31."

The local wardens would not be needed to staff the centre, but they had been recognised as the most successful scheme of its kind in the country.

He explained that with what could be the end of the line less than a year away they were not able to make any longer term plans for projects.

"Ideally we would like to see the scheme rolled out across Swindon. There are a lot of other areas in the town that would love to have street wardens," said Mr Neville-Jones.

But at the moment the team was more or less in limbo.

"I am sure after the local elections things will become clearer," he added.

Government funding of £250,000 supported the scheme for the first two years. An extra year of support was negotiated and it is this funding that is set to run out.

A working party is due to be set up to look at the problem of funding.

Swindon Council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawns) said he did not yet know whether the Government would continue to fund the scheme. If not, the council would have to consider it.

South Swindon MP Julia Drown said the third year of support was agreed on the understanding that the council would then find the money to continue the scheme.

She said: "I am clear that the street wardens are one of the most popular services that this council provides and I would expect the council to listen to local people and to find the funding."

"Undoubtedly there is fantastic work being done by the street wardens. The scheme is making a huge difference to the community."

Central government encouraged local councils to look at such schemes and to take them on, but it couldn't keep on supporting the same schemes at the expense of other areas, she added.

Tina Clarke