FOUR special constables from Salisbury were among those honoured at an awards ceremony on Saturday.

More than 20 special constables were presented with medals and certificates at the annual Wiltshire Police Special Constabulary awards at held the St John’s theatre in Marlborough.

Salisbury special constables Simon Compton, Andrew Teasdale and Timothy Evans were among the officers presented with certificates of independent patrol by Chief Constable Patrick Geenty for demonstrating their capability in more than 30 areas of policing within their first two years’ training.

Paul Johns from Salisbury was awarded a certificate of service for his time in the special constabulary from 2001 to June this year. Although he has now left the force due to other commitments, during his service he also took on line management responsibilities for the specials in Salisbury and received training to enable him to work as an accredited safety trainer.

Richard Palusinski, special constabulary chief officer, said: “He will be sorely missed as he has contributed a great deal to the special constabulary.”

Mr Palusinski added: “As a special I’m very aware of the amount of effort and commitment that special constables show in giving their time freely and for no pay. They take the same risks as their regular colleagues working on the frontline to protect the public.

“Special Constables contributed almost 40,000 front line hours in the past year, which in monetary terms is worth in excess of £1million and makes a real contribution to the force vision to make this the safest county in the country.”

To find out more about being a special constable contact Andy Phillimore in human resources on 101 followed by extension 720 2314 or go to wiltshire.police.uk.