THE contribution of Wiltshire's special constables was honoured at a special awards ceremony presided over by Chief Constable Dame Elizabeth Neville.

Dame Elizabeth presented awards for long service, completion of training, certificates of appreciation and the Police Authority Award for the best special constable in the whole area.

The Police Authority Award was won by Special Constable Julie Box for her work with the town centre crime prevention team, which works with first-time offenders.

Ms Box said: "It is a multi-agency project where young offenders look at why they offend, and how they can change that behaviour.

"They are given lots of practical help but they also have to change what they do and sometimes they have to face their victims and hear them explain what the crime meant to them.

"I go and do all the paperwork for them it's not the most exciting part but it's something that the project couldn't exist without and because the project does such a lot of good in getting young people back on the straight and narrow, I think it is a worthwhile thing to do.

"I work on the town project on a Wednesday night and then do foot or car patrols in the rural sector, mostly in Highworth, at the weekend.

"It is definitely something I would recommend doing, as I have been doing it for over a year and not come across any real downsides yet."

She added that she felt honoured to get the award and explained why she had joined the specials. "I work as a customer services manager during the day, but I wanted to do something extra where I could actually help people in my spare time," she said.

"I have been doing it for 15 months now, and I still really enjoy it. Apart from the tedious paperwork there really are no downsides.

"I think just the fact that people can see us walking the streets or in the car means they feel more secure and that is great.

"I have done quite a lot of public events like football matches where we work as part of a team of police. My favourite was policing the Wroughton Carnival and Fairford Air Tattoo."

Also honoured at the awards ceremony were special constables Barry Mills and Wayne Cottle for ten years of service each, Ken Bridgeman for long service and Chris Belcher for completing his professional development profile in just 18 months.

Former divisional commander Ron Blizzard was given a letter of thanks as he retired after 18 years of service, and Darren Noyce, who is relocating to Dorset after ten years of service, was also thanked.

Specials initially undergo training in the use of handcuffs, CS spray and police batons as well as learning the correct arrest procedure and enough law to be able to recognise offences such as criminal damage and assault.

Ms Box said: "The great thing about being a special is that because it is voluntary, you can do as many hours as you like and you can fit it around your other commitments.