A charity whose volunteers offer a point of refuge and first aid for late-night revellers who get into difficulty in a town centre has a new set of wheels.

The Urban Blue Bus was founded in 2009 by former Mall shopping centre manager Paul Alcock to help people on a night out in Maidstone.

Since then, the volunteer first-aiders have operated from a series of converted buses and coaches but their latest vehicle is a Citroen Relay van.

Their last bus conked out in June last year when the gearbox seized up.

Since then the volunteer managers have had to load cars with a treatment tent, wheelchairs and all the other medical equipment at the start of the night and at the end of the night return it.

Senior trustee Val Jacobs said: “Nevertheless, we have been able to operate almost every week, except for a couple of times where sickness meant we were understaffed.”

But now sponsors in the form of Johnny Landolo of Express Cabs and John Roberts of Genco have come together to present Urban Blue with a fully sign-written van for the charity to use for the next three years.

In addition, the insurance cost is being fully paid by Flint Insurance.

The gift has come as a godsend to the charity which is celebrating its 15th year of volunteering in the night-time economy on Saturday nights.

Mrs Jacobs said: "This incredible gesture has saved the charity, which is suffering real financial strain in the current economic situation.

“To have a fully paid-for van for the next three years is a massive relief and means we can use the money saved on vehicle costs to use on other bills such as replacing equipment and buying medical consumables."

The charity’s founder, Paul Alcock died in January 2018.

He was well known as a Premier League football referee.