POLICE in Vale Royal have received praise for their work with youngsters in combating anti-social behaviour.

The accolade was delivered at the Inside Justice awards and highlighted the achievements of the Western Rural Neighbourhood Police Unit.

Insp Phil Hodgson, who heads Western Rural NPU, said he was honoured and that the recognition for his unit’s work was well deserved.

He said: “To even be nominated for an award is a great honour, so to get such praise from senior officials is just amazing.

“As an NPU, we’ve been working really hard to tackle anti-social behaviour and to address problems associated with youths.

“The vast majority of the schemes we’ve put in place have been extremely successful and I'm proud to be in charge of so many dedicated and hard working police officers and police staff.”