THE COUNCIL has been given an award for funding an innovative anti drink-drive campaign which it has pledged to fund again in a year's time.

Enfield Council was highly commended at the London Transport Awards on March 18 for Safe Drive Stay Alive, a theatre production from Thames Valley's travelling theatre, which is aimed at reducing road casualties among 16 to 18-year-olds.

Campaigners such as George Galli-Atkinson, whose 16-year-old daughter Livia was knocked down by a motorist in 1998, and Southgate MP David Burrowes, have campaigned for 18 months for the show to be put on in Enfield before it was performed for a week at the Millfield Theatre last October.

The show was seen by about 2,000 sixth-formers in Enfield and cost about £30,000 and was financed by the council with help from the police and fire service.

The event included horrific true life stories including that of Nick Bennett, a man in his 20s who is now in a wheelchair after his car collided head on with a lorry.

The story of an 18-year-old footballer who was paralysed for life after celebrating signing a deal with a club was also told.

A re-enactment shows him and a friend getting into a car with three girls. Egged on by the girls, the driver of the car showing off by driving at speed but runs straight into a skip.

The film cuts to a hospital where two of the girls’ life support machines are switched off.

The clips are interspersed with quotes from police, paramedics and firefighters about the crashes. Mr Galli-Atkinson spoke about his daughter, only revealing his identity at the end of the speech.

Roger Miles, Enfield Council’s road safety manager said: “The video did not show any gory detail, however the graphic accounts of the speakers was enough to dramatically change the mood of the audience, providing a lasting impression everyone.”

At the time, both Mr Galli-Atkinson and Mr Burrowes said they hoped the campaign would return, and a council spokesman confirmed that the show will return this year.