Street Angels will operate from Hope Baptist Church in the centre of town every Friday between 9pm and midnight.

Their role will not be to intervene in situations of conflict but offer safety for those who become vulnerable in any way.

Rev Marcus Bull, minister at Hope Baptist Church, said a public meeting will be held at the church on January 6 at 8pm to gauge interest in the project and get people involved.

He said: "We thought we would start small and if it takes off it will be worth expanding.

"We will probably need a regular team of six volunteers so we can use Hope Baptist Church as a base as it's very central in the town. We could have three at the base serving tea and coffee and three with the jackets on walking round the town."

Rev Bull said there was not a huge amount of interest from churches in the town during a pilot project earlier in the year but he hopes his arrival will prompt more interest in the scheme.

He also hopes councillors, the police and various other people will get involved.

He said: "We are looking for local businesses to sponsor the jackets. Hopefully at the meeting people will come forward, not just churchgoers but people who want to put something back into the community by participating in the project."

Todmorden Street Angels was launched in May and has proved to be a success, running each Friday night from 9pm until midnight following the popular Youth Caravan which runs on Fridays from 7pm to 9pm.

In Halifax, the Street Angels scheme has contributed to a 42 per cent reduction in violent crime in the town centre and has seen volunteers give a total of more than 8,000 hours of their time each year.

Similar crime reduction results are beginning to be seen in Todmorden, as well as in more than 30 towns and cities across the UK running similar projects.

Paul Blakey, project manager of Halifax Street Angels, said: "Since receiving funding from the Community Foundation for Calderdale, we have a vision to see Street Angels launch across the borough.

"Street Angels is a fantastic way of enabling people who care about others to do just that. It has helped the Christians of our borough to come out of the buildings and take a practical expression of God's love and peace to the very places where it is needed."

Volunteers are required for the scheme in Hebden Bridge. Although the project is Christian based, volunteers do not need to be Christians in order to take part.

Anybody interested can contact Rev Bull on 01422 844006, visit the Street Angels website www.streetangels.org.uk or attend the public meeting.