A mum has launched self-defence classes in Bala after an attack on a teenage girl shattered the town’s sense of safety.

Janatha Carden has secured £2,000 from North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) to run DefendHER personal safety sessions for women and girls.

The first class is at Canolfan Bro Tegid, 2pm-4pm on 28 February, with further sessions planned later this year.

Janatha said: “The assault broke my bubble of feeling that I lived in a really safe place.

“A lot of my friends felt like that too.

“I wanted to do something, to turn that into something positive.

“This project is a pilot. We are going to run it for about a year, then we will evaluate how well we have done and hopefully get more funding to carry it on here and, potentially, different areas.

“I got in touch with PACT about funding for the self-defence sessions, I thought it would be a perfect fit.

“The course itself is for aged 12 and up.

“I hope the women who do the course will leave feeling more confident, resilient, prepared, and become aware of the potential risks.

“To have those pots of funding PACT provides is crucial.

“Thanks to that support from PACT we are able to offer these sessions for free.

“This project is about empowerment, not fear.

“One of the things we are going to do is encourage women to use their voice to deter somebody.

“We don’t practise shouting and we should.

“Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) North Wales have also agreed to come and do a short advice session.”

North Wales PACT Manager Kelsey Reed said the project will give participants the confidence to allow them to walk down the streets of Bala, or jump on a plane and spend six months travelling the world.

“This is about empowering women to feel safe - it should be a non-negotiable for all of us to feel safe in our communities,” she added.

The self-defence courses will be run by martial arts expert and personal trainer Dave Hughes, who owns the Alpha Unit Training gym at Rhydymain.

The DefendHER project is just one of many schemes supported by PACT, an independent charity launched in 1998 to support community initiatives, particularly those in which the police are involved.

In that time it has helped over 2,500 projects, investing in communities right across North Wales.

Kelsey added: “For many who are involved in the projects, this is their first interaction with the police, so making this a positive experience can have profound consequences on their future life choices.

“From Gwynedd in the west across to Flintshire and Wrexham in the east, PACT continues to support projects that enable positive and sustainable community development and this has never been more important than right now.”

To book the self-defence session, visit https://thealphaunit.co.uk/.

For more details and how to apply for PACT funding, visit https://www.pactnorthwales.co.uk/applications-ceisiadau/