LOCAL man, Ashley Reay, was amongst those recognised with ‘PCC Pride Awards’ by Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Sue Mountstevens, at a ceremony on Tuesday 5th December.
Ashley had been nominated for his work with Mendip Community Speed Watch, to which he has been dedicated to for the past 10 years. He completes up to 130 hours per month on Community Speed Watch matters, which includes roadside speed checks, training new members, and working with the Speed Enforcement Unit in targeting high speeding ‘blackspots’. He also helps the police at special events, Glastonbury for example, attending the festival to hand out safety leaflets and talk to event visitors about safety.
Ashley attends road safety meetings with the police and speed enforcement units. He also attends police speed enforcement with police staff to check and ascertain the current level of speeds so as to seek out new methods and attitudes to educate the public about the dangers of speeding.
He attends speed awareness courses to find out why the motorist speeds and talks to those offending motorists about the dangers of excess speed. Ashley is the constant liaison person between the CSW teams and Mendip Police and local authorities, so that speeding is kept at the forefront of local issues.
Ashley said, “I was absolutely delighted to learn that I had been nominated for such a prestigious award and felt quite humbled. I also felt that I am just a custodian of such awards, as the other 270 community speed watch members in Mendip all deserve an award for the outstanding work they do day in, day out on the roads, helping to reduce the speed of traffic thus making our roads safer for the public.”
The award ceremony took place at Police and Fire Headquarters in Portishead. 16 worthy winners were presented with PCC Pride Awards, before recipients and their guests were invited to have lunch with the PCC and Chief Constable Andy Marsh.
PCC Sue Mountstevens said, “I consider it one of the best bits of my role, hosting the Pride Awards and hearing more about how local people are going above and beyond in their communities. I am delighted that so many people have chosen to nominate these ‘silent stars’, all who go about their daily business with little or no recognition.
“These awards highlight just some of the very special individuals we have living and working amongst us and their exemplary efforts are hugely appreciated across Avon and Somerset. It’s important we take the time to celebrate these inspirational and selfless individuals, who work hard to help keep our communities safe and feeling safe.”