A charity campaigner will be spending the night in a cell at Melksham police to raise awareness about autism and to raise money for charity.
Charlie Avent from Gloucestershire, who lives with autism, learning difficulties and mental health challenges including mild depression, will spend 13 hours in a Melksham police cell for Care of Police Survivors (COPS), a charity that supports the families of police officers and staff who have lost their lives on duty.
He has set himself a fundraising target of £1,000 and has so far raised £200.
Charlie also hopes that his time behind bars will help the police learn more about autism.
“The police have often looked after me when there wasn’t anybody else around to help,” Charlie told Melksham News, “and I have always massively respected them and always thought of them as hugely important role models in my life.
“My reason I wanted to raise money for this charity [COPS] is because I want to help the families of the officers that haven’t come home because of all the evil things that happen in the world.”
About his work raising awareness of autism with the police force, Charlie – who wanted to be a police officer when he was younger – said, “I’ve been helping to teach police in Gloucestershire and other places all about autism and mental health, to try to avoid any major misunderstanding in the future.
“It’s one of the few ways I can still get positively involved with helping to bring safety, law and order to my community since I can’t be an officer myself.”
Charlie also raises awareness about his experiences living with autism via his own Facebook page, ‘The Autistic Cowboy’, a nod to his love for horses – a passion that he says has been life changing for him. He says, “I just love helping people and people are always helping me with my difficulties, especially complete strangers who often follow me on Facebook since I’m known as The Autistic Cowboy – where I blog about my experiences with the condition, and horses, and try to raise awareness.”
To support Charlie and donate to COPS, visit www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/charlie-avent