Bath homeless to be tourist guides

By Linda Fox

Bath hoteliers have expressed concern about the local council's plan to train young homeless people to become city tourist guides.

Bath and North East Somerset Council's scheme involves providing suitable candidates with accommodation, and a salary between £10,000 and £14,000.

Ross Stevenson, general manager of the city's luxury Royal Crescent hotel, said: "They know Bath well, but you need to ensure there are standards. Tourists wouldn't approach them unless they were presentable, and it wouldn't give the right impression of the city."

Janet Cutting, proprietor of the Paradise House hotel, expressed similar reservations. "Unless they can smarten them up it would be pretty awful," she said, "but it does give them something to do rather than begging on the streets."

Graham Iles, president of Bath's Chamber of Commerce, was also sceptical. "The idea is highly commendable but I'm unsure whether a significant proportion of the people involved would be interested," he said.

However, Del Herod, leader of the Labour group on the hung council, stressed that there would be a strict dress code. "They will have a corporate visual identity and be given training in dealing with the public, and language skills," he stated.

Mr Herod added that the homeless and jobless being targeted for the scheme would be those who were enthusiastic and committed.