IF you are from Colchester, the chances are you will have heard of the SOS Bus.

Whether it is through personal experience, a friend or family member being on it, or through word of mouth, it is a key part of the town’s night life.

It is in the town centre on Friday and Saturday nights, from 9pm to 4am, and has been running for over a decade and aims to help people who could be vulnerable through drink or drugs or all manner of other situations.

Some of the community see it as a negative thing and ask why help drunk people?

However, it is so much more than that and the stories which can be told through work on the bus might just change your perception of it.

Meet Dennis Barnett, who recently became a Member of the British Empire in recognition of his hard work volunteering on the bus.

Mr Barnett, 62, lives in New Town, Colchester, with his wife, Adele, two children, one of which is at Oxford University, and other in-laws.

Dennis has been a part of the Colchester SOS Bus team for 13 years joining around three months after it opened.

He had just stopped being the vice-chairman of a charity play school which closed.

Dennis said: “I saw an advert in the paper and I thought it sounded like a great idea.”

A self-employed locksmith by trade, Dennis volunteers on the bus one night a month.

He said: “We look after the night time economy on a Friday and Saturday night.

“Everyone thinks it is just looking after drunk people, but it is so much more than that.

“There is always a reason someone gets drunk, left behind or comes aboard.

“We can charge people’s phones if people get injured or lost, we can hand out water, lollies or contraception like condoms.

“But the fundamental job that is important is to stop people ending up in A&E.

“We have a qualified paramedic on board, to help stitch, sew, staple, whatever is needed, to avoid sending people to the hospital.

“I think in 2018 to 2019 we saved the health service around £700,000.

“The strangest thing is that even after spending three or four hours with someone, they won’t always know you’ve helped them.

“You can find out their entire life story without them even knowing who you are, but it is important work helping these people.”

There have been many volunteers coming and going from the bus, some becoming inspired by the job they have done.

One of which was Dennis’ daughter, who went on to become a paramedic after her work with her father on the bus.

Dennis said: “Many people work on the bus do it for experience, for a short time before leaving.

“My daughter Lillie worked with us on the bus, which inspired her to become a paramedic in London.

“We have had a volunteer that has just started as a policewoman, lots of university students, we have worked with fully-qualified doctors from South America, some people from Sudan, China.

“It is an amazing array of people I have met through this, and you learn so much whilst being on there.”

Mr Barnett became an MBE for his services to Vulnerable People in Essex.

He also provides volunteer work for the foodbank and the refuge.

Being told in November, Dennis said he probably deserves more recognition for keeping the secret for so long.

He said: “I was told a little while before everyone found out.

“It was really hard keeping the secret, but it was overwhelming to be recognised.

“I never do it for recognition as I am sure everyone would agree, I do it to help people, and seeing the benefits of that first hand is the best thing for me.”

Dennis added: “I think every town should have an SOS Bus.

“It is a place people can go to feel safe and secure, at what is sometimes during a time where they can be at their most vulnerable.

“It is an absolute privilege to help people and do things that most people don’t witness in their life, and it helps my mental health too.

“I am proud of the team, and the work we do for everyone.”

  • To find out more or volunteer for the bus, visit bit.ly/31P6J9V.