A separate Community Thank You award was given to the Flood family, who have been working to fight knife crime since son Chris was seriously injured in a stabbing three years ago.

A special constable who has worked 900 voluntary hours over the past 12 months was among the winners at the inaugural West Mercia Police Quality Policing Awards.

Held last Friday at West Midlands Safari Park, these awards were created to recognise the achievements of those in uniform alongside members of the public who work with the force to improve their communities.

They were created by Chief Constable Pippa Mills, who put staff recognition "right at the top" of her priorities after arriving as chief in September 2021.

She said: "I’m incredibly proud of the outstanding work my officers, staff and volunteers do to protect people from harm and make our communities safer.

“It was an honour and a privilege to hear the brilliant examples of the positive impact the nominees have had; their achievements represent the very best traditions of policing – putting the public first, being courageous, showing compassion, taking ownership and being inclusive.”

There were more than 33 nominees across 11 categories, with the winners in all but one chosen by a panel.

The outlier was the Chief Constable's Award, which was handed to SC Sarah Severn whose entry had "truly stood out" to the chief. 

In uniform, SC Severn has clocked up over 900 hours over the last year across 122 separate duties, and was the first to offer to go out on shift with the force's new specials.

When not volunteering for the police, she and her husband are involved in charity fundraising following the death of their daughter Daisy.

Elsewhere, DC Joanne Kerr from Shropshire PVP won the Police Officer of the Year Award for her work with victims and survivors of child and domestic abuse, while the Victim's Champion Award was given to DC Julia Proctor from the Child Exploitation Team.

The Investigator of the Year was DC Kim Carpenter from MIU in South Hereford, whose work during Operation Former - which saw her travel to Kenya to interview vulnerable children - saw a British national jailed for 17 years.

DS Edward Jones from Reactive CID in Worcestershire was lauded for his inspirational leadership, while Sgt Ingrid Tozer and PC Chris Rayment received the Prevention and Problem Solving award for their involvement with a project that has reduced violence at Shrewsbury Town football matches.

There were also awards for the PCSO and Volunteer of the Year, alongside a Bravery award given to Louise Gibson from the Traffic Processing Unit who saved a woman in distress from walking in front of a train.