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Flintshire Neighbourhood Watch Association wins national award for its work

FLINTSHIRE Neighbourhood Watch Association has won a national award.

The organisation, which is in its 25th year, scooped the Community Safety Award at the National Personal Safety Awards ceremony in London.

The awards were presented by Crimewatch host Jacqui Haimes.

The team was chosen for the ‘distinctive and ingenious ways’ it gets the crime prevention and personal safety messages across to residents of Flintshire and Wrexham and, in particular, children.

Rachel Griffin, director of the organisers of the awards, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said: “They also help to make these areas a safer place for those who live, work or visit there.”

FNWA has a fleet of bright liveried vehicles and full-sized live characters.

It uses a ‘Yfactor’ vehicle to appeal to the younger generation with an array of leaflets and a DVD flat-screen player.

The vehicle is liveried with the pictures of one of its full sized, live characters, Y Ddraig Melyn (The Yellow Dragon).

It also has a TFord 1040 ex-prison van known as The Y Kops vehicle (Youth Keeping Older People Safe), which is kitted out with vintage pictures and police uniform. A volunteer dresses as ‘Ye olde police officer’ also helps draw in the crowds at community safety events.

Other full-size characters used are Billy Burglar and PC Hug (Helping Unite Generations).

The full-sized characters are also used in an innovative educational way under the Y Kops project. Schools are visited and the children are taught how to prevent ‘doorstep crime’ so they can then pass it on to anyone older that they know.

Denise Edwards, chief officer for Flintshire Neighbourhood Watch said the team, which works in partnership with the police, two community safety partnerships in Flintshire and Wrexham and the local authority ‘deserved’ the award.

She added: “People just want to live their lives and feel that they are safe and that if they feel unsafe they can turn to us to get the support they need.”

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