The Lord Ferrers Awards ceremony took place at the Houses of Parliament on Monday 24 June, where four team members represented Leicestershire Police alongside other special constables and volunteers from around the country.

The Volunteers have continued to prove their worth since they formed in 2002. They work on projects selected in consultation with the Blaby Commander to help the local policing unit meet its targets to reduce crime and the fear of crime.

The time they contribute saves the Force a large amount of time and money by, for example, carrying out visits to victims of crime and providing further support to them following an incident.

The team are driven by the belief that volunteers have the ability to make a difference to the community at a minimal cost.

Jeremy Collingridge, a Volunteer for Blaby, said:

“We were so pleased when we found out that we had won. It was such an honour to have been invited to the Houses of Parliament and to have been selected once again to receive this award. We thoroughly enjoy the work we do, particularly helping members of the community and assisting police officers with their duties.

Fellow volunteer Chris Ainge said:

“Winning this award for the fourth time in five years is truly amazing. The satisfaction we get from supporting our local policing unit to make the Blaby district a safer place to live is enough of a reward, however this award is icing on the cake!”

A judge from the panel said:

“This is the fourth year that the Blaby Volunteers have won this award, and it is much deserved. The team continue to lead on developing creative and effective self-funded responses to emerging local problems, all of which have a significant impact on local neighbourhoods, and contribute to freeing up police time and resources.

“Their effective use of technology enables them to target their responses, and they continue to promote the work of police support volunteers locally and nationally.”