FIRST NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH – ACHIEVER AWARD

The award was presented to John Storey at the Community Kiosk, in Middleton Hall on Tuesday 8th June. Clive Parrish of Daniels Security, presented a voucher worth £150 of security equipment. To mark the occasion, John was also presented with a framed certificate by Insp. Neil Coolman on behalf of Milton Keynes Neighbourhood Watch. He expressed his thanks to John for his exceptional efforts. The award nomination from an independant watch member read, ‘John Storey, a retired engineer, lives in an area of Bletchley that recently became a ‘No Cold Calling’ zone. This is an area identified as needing more local support by Trading Standards in association with the Community Safety Partnership, Neighbourhood Watch, Age UK and Thames Valley Police. As part of helping his community John volunteered to become a Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator and set up a ‘scheme’ that covered over thirty homes, mainly occupied by elderly people.

John made sure he visited everyone in his scheme to re-assure them that they would now feel safer in their homes and they could call upon him any time if they had concerns or suspicions about ‘unwanted’ people in the area. However, he took things a stage further. When he found out that personal, door and window alarms were available from the MKNHW he bought some for himself and family. After installing his own, he took samples of the alarms to all his scheme members with the result that many more were purchased and which he then helped fix for his neighbours, free of charge. He has now become the ‘Mr Fix it’ for his scheme members, arranging other things, hedge cutting and gardening – and so it goes on. A very worthy recipient of the first Neighbourhood Watch Achiever Award!’

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Photo left: Clive Parrish, Daniels Security presenting £150 voucher to WINNER John Storey. Photo middle: Insp. Neil Coolman, TVP, presenting Achiever Award certificate to John Storey, on right Clive Parrish. Photo right: John Hunt, MKNHWA Vice Chair; Derek Milton, MKNHWA Committee, Neil Coolman, John Storey and wife Angela, Clive Parrish, Oscar Hubert, MKNHWA Chairman, Jim Blore MKNHWA Treasurer. Many thanks: to Heather Baldi, Photographer.

Aims and benefits

You, yes you, can help make your community a safer place. It’s easy – by joining your local scheme you can help and reassure those living in your area and encourage neighbourliness.

• Signs and stickers to act as a deterrent to criminals

• Community messages about burglaries, crime trends and other police information

• Reduced one-off cost for Smartwater

• Reduced premiums from some insurance companies

• Get to know and your local police officers

• Liaise with community support officers