Beauty contest entrants hand over personal safety alarms

ENTRANTS for next year's Miss West Lothian event have donated 100 personal safety alarms to Lothian and Borders Police.

They joined Miss West Lothian, Metja Bowes, and former winner, Ashley Brown, to make the donation at Livingston police station.

The girls have been running a KISS (Keep It Safe and Sound) campaign to purchase personal safety alarms for women in West Lothian.

Dozens have already been handed out to women living on their own, or walking to work through isolated areas.

The girls now plan to step up their campaign in the run-up to the festive season and will be encouraging people to have a safe night out.

The alarms were accepted on behalf of police by PC Bob Cowan, whose original personal safety talk at a Miss West Lothian workshop sparked off the KISS campaign.

Miss West Lothian co-organiser Claire Molloy said: "We are delighted to be able to donate these personal safety alarms to police. It shows that contestants are helping make a difference in their own community. It's what Miss West Lothian is all about and we have three further fundraisers coming up to help pay for even more alarms."