A DRAMA project co-written by police officers to teach young drivers about the dangers of road use has been shortlisted for a grant to perform at schools in North Wales.

Denbigh Workshop has been listed for the North Wales Police & Community Trust (PACT) scheme which uses cash seized from criminals to fund volunteer and community groups across the region. It is aimed at helping the force to ensure a safe and better quality of life for residents.

Former West End actress Tracy Spencer-Jones and Denbigh Workshop chair said the play ‘It Could Happen To You!’, which has been piloted at secondary schools in Denbigh, St Asaph and Llangollen, is a “hard-hitting” performance from the point of view of the first officer at the scene of a crash. The spotlight then moves to a grieving mother who lost her son in the incident.

Mrs Spencer-Jones said the extra funding would enable the play to be performed at up to 15 more schools in Denbighshire, Conwy, Flintshire and Wrexham.

“We were delighted to be shortlisted for these funds having written our original script last year with funding from PACT in association with local police,” she said. “It is a very hard hitting but effective 40-minute bilingual performance to year 12s and 13s in the hope that it will make young new drivers more aware of the dangers of roads

“These collisions have had a huge effect on the wider community and we would like to prevent more young people losing their lives on our roads by making informed decisions when it comes to risk taking and getting behind a wheel of a car.

“If we are successful in gaining more funding we can reach a wider audience throughout North Wales.”

Denbigh Workshop is based at HWB Dinbych, where it holds activities such as street art lessons, make-up sessions and song-writing workshops led by professional artists.

PACT’s ‘Your Community, Your Choice’ has £40,000 to donate to North Wales groups, with half from seized cash and match funding from the police and crime commissioner Arfon Jones. Other projects up for the £5,000 sum include DangerPoint’s ‘Knives Take Lives’, which educates young people in disadvantaged areas on the dangers of carrying a knife; and Cruse Bereavement Care North Wales to provide bereavement support for children experiencing their first loss and adults who are isolated.

Mr Jones said: “What better way than using the proceeds of crime than helping communities build resilience amongst their own young people.

“There is an element of poetic justice in using money obtained through crime to address the problem of crime in our communities.”

To vote in the Your Community, Your Choice, visit www.north-wales.police.uk/contact/your-community-your-choice/all-north-wales