Honouring best in the police force

Left to right: Sponsor Angela Evans of Optima Health, representatives from Blyth Neighbourhood Police Team, Chief Constable Winton Keenen.

Blyth Neighbourhood Police Team was among the winners at the Northumbria Police force’s annual awards.

It was named Police Team of the Year at the Pride in Policing Award ceremony held last week.

Left to right: Sponsor Caryl Nobbs of Unison, Bedlington Cleaners, Chief Constable Winton Keenen.

Other successes in south east Northumberland included the Bedlington Cleaning Team, which won the Staff Team of the Year category.

The evening saw a total of 12 awards handed out, with PC James Desmond named Officer of the Year, then garnering 40 per cent of the public’s vote in the Outstanding Contribution category.

Chief Constable Winton Keenen said: “Occasions such as this are truly humbling – I’m honoured to be able to showcase the outstanding work carried out by our officers, staff and volunteers.

“These awards demonstrate the exceptional commitment to protecting our communities that our people display day in, day out.

“Both our winners and nominees should feel exceptionally proud of their achievements.”

The awards, now in their ninth year, were hosted by BBC Look North’s Jeff Brown, and were sponsored by the likes of Konica Minolta, Optima Health, Unison, Northumbria Police Federation, Integral and Eurofins.

Other winners included Sgt Chrissie Skillen and Sgt Warren Sturrock, who won the High Sheriff Cup (male and female awards), while Sgt Dave Clement won the Roy Toogood Memorial Award.