Nationwide deal safeguards future of newsfeed project

Nationwide - the world's largest building society - has agreed to support the LARSOA road safety newsfeed project for the next three years.

"This is great news for LARSOA," said Brian Hogarth, the Association's secretary, who agreed the deal with Andrew Litchfield, Nationwide's Head of Social & Environmental Responsibility. "The financial agreement with Nationwide, combined with the existing arrangements with the DfT, safeguard the future of the website project.

"While our news service continues to prove very popular with, and well used by, road safety professionals, it's no secret that the financial commitment required to deliver a quality weekly service was stretching LARSOA. The Nationwide deal has eased that situation considerably.

"Equally important, we feel entirely at ease with Nationwide as an organisation. We feel that the Society is supporting the project because it sees it as a worthwhile cause rather than for any commercial gain."

Nationwide has a strong history of involvement in community projects and is firmly committed to supporting the communities from which it has grown. Through sponsorship, fundraising and other activities, Nationwide supports hundreds of events and initiatives across the country each year.

The Society also has a strong links with road safety through its Cats eyes for kids campaign.

As the clocks went back in October 2001, Nationwide distributed almost six million reflectors throughout the UK - one for every primary school child. By wearing a reflector a child pedestrian can be visible at 150 metres with low beam headlights compared to only 30 metres without one. Because the Society feels so strongly about road safety it has pledged to give every new intake child a reflector until 2006