Pub landlady remains passionate about night time safety and teamed up with taxi firm in latest initiative

Maria Carr has run The Spread Eagle in Wellingborough Road for the last four years, and her multi-award-winning safety initiative has been rolled out across the Wells & Co pub group.

“The initiative was emphasised during the spiking epidemic,” said Maria. “I want to highlight that we’re still doing it and it’s part of the efforts we make.”

The Spread Eagle assists people whose phones have run out of charge, and those who have lost their friends. They help them to contact someone or safely get a taxi home.

In the past year, Maria has seen an increase in the number of people who specifically come to the pub as they feel comfortable seeking help and reporting incidents there.

The landlady shared that she received a call from a young female who was locked in a man’s property after a night out. The police attended as a result of The Spread Eagle and the female was rescued. This is just one example of the difference the venue has made.

All of Maria’s staff are also trained to identify harassment and stamp it out from the pub.

“We’re a place people can come if they need help,” Maria said proudly. “We will always help them and they won’t be turned away.”

Over the past couple of months, Maria has worked with Bounds Taxis to create a specific area at the side of the pub where lifts home can be quickly arranged. It is well lit, with CCTV and members of security at peak times, and is the newest safe space at The Spread Eagle.

Maria said: “We’ve got the Northampton Guardians who do so much. It’s about supporting what they do. As much as we can look after people inside, we can’t when they leave.

“Getting a safe taxi home is the last part of the jigsaw on a night out. I get a lot of satisfaction when people leave safely.”

The landlady shared that when she first introduced her female safety initiative, many men did not understand the concept and asked her to explain.

“I explained that men get dressed and go,” said Maria. “Women have to get friends to go with them and are told by parents to put keys between their fingers at night in case they get attacked. The thought process is a lot bigger. It’s about education.”

The safety of Northampton’s night time economy has been praised with Purple Flag status, and Maria believes the town is deserving of this recognition.

“The first weekend the SNO van went out, it assisted 150 women,” said Maria. “That would have been 150 women who were not supported that night. It makes me very emotional when I think about the statistics. We fully deserve that status and have worked so hard for it.”

One thing Maria noticed previously was that many pubs and venues did not communicate about issues that were impacting them all.

Around 18 months ago, the landlady visited every establishment on Wellingborough Road and a couple from the town centre. She added them to a group chat, where they now share information about those who have been found to harass others on nights out.

Maria says she has been praised by Northamptonshire Police for preventing future incidents, as sharing information between venues means these individuals will not be allowed in after moving from one to another.