A LONG-SERVING Neighbourhood Watch champion from Farnham has been recognised for his “sustained dedication” to preventing crime at the 2019 Surrey Neighbourhood Watch Association annual general meeting awards.

Roger Blishen, the Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator for Bat and Ball Lane and Wicket Hill in Wrecclesham for the past 25 years, was presented with a Certificate of Achievement by Surrey Police chief superintendent Ali Barlow during the meeting at Horton Park Golf Club last month.

Mr Blishen founded the Wrecclesham scheme with the then-local PC Nigel Tidy in 1994 following a raft of house break-ins in the area, and believes his group has played a significant role in preventing further crime in the area over the past quarter of a century.

As area co-ordinator, Mr Blishen is in constant contact with both the police and residents, sending out regular e-mails alerting them to potential risks and sharing crime prevention advice.

Pressures on local government budgets have seen the scheme’s grants funding slashed in recent years, but Mr Blishen believes these cuts mean Surrey’s Neighbourhood Watch groups are needed more than ever. Mr Blishen was one of two co-ordinators recognised at the association’s annual awards.