Campaign to protect women is a thing of beauty

DOZENS of would-be beauty queens hoping to be crowned the next Miss West Lothian have launched a new safety campaign to protect other women.

More than 200 are expected to help with the initiative to raise funds to buy personal safety alarms for young women in the area.

The campaign runs throughout the year and those backing it include entrants in this year's beauty pageant, as well as previous entrants and winners of the competition, including Miss West Lothian 2011, Metja Bowes.

They launched the campaign last week after being inspired by a personal safety talk given by a police officer during the launch of Miss West Lothian 2012.

The group will organise a number of fundraisers throughout the year. Among the events will be a fancy dress night, a fashion show, a race night and a car wash.

The girls hope to raise enough money to buy "hundreds" of personal safety alarms for young women across West Lothian, which will be distributed via local nightclubs and community centres.

Co-organiser of the Miss West Lothian event, Claire Molloy, said: "West Lothian is a safe place to live but there has been a number of incidents recently involving attacks on young women.

"We're hoping that young women will not only feel safer by carrying a personal alarm, but also that they will be less likely to be attacked in the first place if men know they probably will have an alarm in their possession.

"The girls were inspired by the personal safety talk given by Bob Cowan and felt they wanted to do something to help young women in their own age group."

Hayley Thomas, 27, who lives in Ladywell in Livingston, is part of the campaign and one of the entrants battling it out to be crowned Miss West Lothian 2012.

The mother-of-one said: "I don't know why these attacks are happening so much here. It is really frightening because it's so close to home. I would never have thought twice about walking home from the pub at 2am until a couple of months ago when this all started happening."

The campaign will run until the Miss West Lothian final at The Club in Broxburn on December 7, when Miss West Lothian 2012 will be announced.

Miss Thomas added: "I think the campaign is a fantastic idea. I have had my drink spiked at a nightclub in Livingston before and it was frightening because I didn't know what was happening to me."It has made me more aware."

Another entrant in the pageant, Danielle Delaosa, 19, from Ladywell, who also claimed she had her drink spiked at a West Lothian club around a month ago, said: "I think every girl should have a personal safety alarm because you never know who's out there."

The group will meet tomorrow to begin planning the various fundraisers.

A police spokeswoman said: "Lothian and Borders Police welcome this campaign to issue women in West Lothian with personal safety alarms.

"We support any measure introduced which helps reassure people in the area that they are safe, as we appreciate people will be concerned."