National praise for Greater Manchester man credited with turning around plight of rail station in Stockport

Stewart Hall, who works as a customer service assistant for the train operator Northern at Brinnington station in Stockport, Greater Manchester, featured on BBC Radio 4’s award-winning current affairs programme ‘File on 4’ last night.

He is credited, alongside colleagues, with turning around the fortunes of the station, which welcomes over 100,000 customers a year and had previously been a hotspot for anti-social behaviour.

Hall, who joined Northern as a CCTV engineer in 2008, set up a ‘Swap Shop’ at the station with his colleague, Darin Astbury, twelve months ago. It provides a service for those in the local community in need of food, clothes, books and other household items.

The scheme proved incredibly popular, with more than 1,000 members of the local community joining the Facebook group and five volunteers now helping to co-ordinate donations.

They have even helped fully-furnish houses for people that have moved into the local area with no possessions.

Commenting on the documentary, Stewart Hall said: “When me and Darin started all this, I never thought I’d end up on Radio 4. For us, the ‘Swap Shop’ was about providing practical help to people living close to the station that were most in need.

“As word spread throughout the community about what we were doing at the station, we saw a steady reduction in anti-social behaviour, which makes the station itself a more valued resource for the community who need to use the railway to get about.”

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “Stewart and Darin are perfect examples of the positive impact each and every one of us can have on our community if we put our mind to it. Their actions – and those of other colleagues at the station and volunteers – are to be commended.”

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.