Police officers, staff and members of the public have been recognised for their exceptional contribution to keep Dorset safe at an awards ceremony.

This event, held at Cobham Sports and Social Club in Wimborne, saw a number of awards presented to recipients in the company of family and friends.

After nominations from colleagues and members of the public, the 16 awards were presented by Chief Constable James Vaughan and Philip Warr, the High Sheriff of Dorset.

Chief Constable Vaughan said: "I am privileged to be able to commend the hard work, dedication and professionalism that officers and staff contribute to Dorset Police and the community.

"It is really important that every individual is recognised for their valuable contribution in preventing and detecting crime and supporting victims."

The Royal Humane Society Award was presented to police constables Kate Schofield and Vicky Sims by the High Sheriff for saving a man’s life. Both officers attended a concern for welfare incident, along with colleagues from the ambulance service, and worked together with the paramedics to provide CPR to a man, which resulted in his life being saved.

Several officers and special constables were awarded with long service and good conduct medals by the High Sheriff.

This included special sergeant Antony Streets, who joined Dorset Police in June 2009 beginning his career in Shaftesbury. While balancing a busy day-job and personal life, Antony also spends a lot of time helping with the initial training of new special constables assisting with their learning.

The Dorset Civil Contingencies Unit (CCU), made up of members of partner organisations, received a Chief Constable’s Commendation for their work during the snow storm in March 2018 which caused extreme disruption throughout the county.

The CCU ensured partners were kept updated and were prepared for the bad weather, with any gaps in resilience addressed.

Throughout the duration of the storm, each team member went above and beyond what might reasonably be expected and continued to deliver an excellent service despite the extremely challenging weather conditions. The team’s approach, professionalism and commitment to the first major incident since becoming the CCU attracted praise from a number of other Local Resilience Forum organisations.