
by Rebecca Hannant
A community centre in Hedon is hosting a Halloween maze to raise funds for the town’s food bank.
Entertainment business Proper Creationz installed the maze at the Amy Black Community Centre filled with scary props, actors and lots of frights.
The maze was created by the company’s Keith and Brad Holmes who wanted to raise funds for the food bank and help the most vulnerable people this winter.
The company usually creates mazes for different settings, but a change of plans led to the company using the community centre’s facilities to support the Hedon Community Food Bank.
The maze has been open to the public since Friday, October 25, and has so far scared the likes of children, teens and adults alike with a mix of jump scares and psychological horrors.
Keith built the maze with the aid of his computer programmer son Brad who set up a hydraulic door system that allows rooms to change within the maze, leading to more scares around each corner.
Meanwhile, professional and trainee actors have been on hand in full costume throughout the maze.
The maze operates on three different settings to accommodate different groups of people.
Keith said: “We have had lots of reactions to it, and we have had people going for full scares, but we have also been adapting to people. For instance, we have had five-year-olds come and we changed the settings and the music, and made it playful for them.
“I’m hoping to carry it on next year and go bigger and bigger.”
Hedon Community Food Bank organisers say that the maze is a unique addition for them and comes at an important time as continued pressures have led to the service struggling to find support for individuals.
They say that accessing grants from councils and support agencies is becoming increasingly difficult because of the number of people needing help, and numbers of those needing support are expected to rise this winter. Staff at the food bank say they have had to find alternative ways to gather funds as food banks across the area and beyond are having to compete with one another.
Food bank organiser Sarah Rommell said that the food bank offered tailored support to individuals accessing the service.
She said: “We are trying to pull money in specifically for pensioners to make food parcels which are aimed at those who may not be able to switch a cooker on.
“Sending out food parcels is one thing, but if they can’t heat the cooker up, then they won’t be able to eat it. We include lots of tinned stuff which can be heated up in the microwave, and stuff like tinned pork.”
The maze will run until Thursday, October 31, and runs between 5.30pm and 8.30pm at the Amy Black Community Centre in Hedon. The maze is open to ages 10 and up, with under-10s admitted at the discretion of adults.
Tickets are £5, with all funds going to supporting the Hedon Community Food Bank Pensioners’ Winter Fuel Fund.
Donations are also accepted at the food bank.