Forces joined to help others in Sandwell Council's Safer Six campaign

The six-week campaign kicked off in Union Street with more than 15 stalls covering local services including Connexions, Sandwell Leisure Trust and Trading Standards.

Representatives from West Midlands Police were also present along with crews from Wednesbury and West Bromwich fire stations.

Councillor Elaine Costigan, who gave her opening speech from the front seat of a fire engine, encouraged everyone to take advantage of the information around them.

She said: "Today is very important because we have lots of different partners here who can help inform everyone of the support that is available to them in the area and what we are doing to make the borough safer.

"It is fantastic, and we hope that people can get in touch with the different people here and engage in some inquiries."

For its sixth year running, the campaign aims to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour as well as re-assure residents of safety points before the dark nights draw in.

Each town will have a focus week during the campaign, with West Bromwich, Tipton and Oldbury also on the list.

Children from Wood Green Junior School in Wednesbury were also wowed by flames from chip pan fire demonstrations.

Michelle Gardner, pupil voice co-ordinator, said: "They have loved it. They really enjoyed the demonstrations and it is a fantastic way for children to learn about safety.

"It is a great event for the whole community to come together."

Residents were given safety freebies including crime prevention UV pens.

Lisa Garratt, from Kings Hill, picked up some of the pens and stickers following bouts of crime in her area.

Miss Garratt, aged 33, said: "Today has been really interesting and useful. I've picked up some of these pen markers to pass onto my neighbours too as there have been an increase in crime recently.

"I think it is good to have something like this in the community, especially Wednesbury, as you usually see the bigger towns just focused on with events like this."

Safer 6 organiser, Santokh Singh said it was just the beginning of bringing the community together.

"This is just the start, we have a whole range of events that will be taking place here over the next five days," he explained.

"It is fantastic to see so many people here finding out about what is going on in their local area."

The campaign can be followed on Twitter using the #Safer6 hashtag.