People in Locks Heath have teamed up with officers for a week-long series of events aimed at making their village safer and tidier.

The Crime Reduction and Environment Week proved a huge success, with residents keen to improve their community. It was latest in a series of events around the area.

Sergeant David Spacey, from Park Gate police, who organised the event, said: 'Since the introduction of our Safer Neighbourhood Team last year, a lot has been achieved and overall people are telling us they feel safer and more able to contact their local officers.

'While there is still work to do, the Crew week is another example of the joint agencies and the community pulling together in order to make the western wards a better place to live and work.'

During the week, children and adults joined officers in a series of clean-up jobs and crime prevention events, including bike-coding sessions, where officers were inundated with crowds of people keen to protect their bikes and stop thieves.

Trading Standards officers were then out and about in the area talking to shop owners and businesses, and officers then targeted speeding drivers.

Residents also flocked to join in the clean-up events across the area. They donned rubber gloves and aprons and cleaned up graffiti and spruced up park buildings and skate ramps.

Sgt Spacey said: 'These weeks are vitally important in building a good relationship with the community and in showing that the police are committed to creating a healthy environment for all residents to live and work in.

'The more we are able to engage with the community, the better our understanding of local issues is. This makes us better placed to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime that can be a blight on a community.'

He also said police were particularly pleased how many young people joined in.

He added: 'The perception of young people can be negative and it's very important to show that young members of the community can – and do – make a positive contribution.'