A LONG-SERVING member of the Farnham Crime Prevention Panel has been presented with the John King Award for outstanding work in crime prevention.

David Seal was presented his award by the Mayor of Farnham, Mike Hodge, at a Farnham Town Council meeting, also attended by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, David Munro, and the Waverley Neighbourhood Inspector, Mark Bridge.

The Farnham Crime Prevention Panel consists entirely of volunteers and was set up in the late 1980s to promote the prevention of crime in Farnham and the surrounding area.

The panel acts in partnership with Farnham Town Council and with the police, as well as other volunteer organisations.

With the recent closure of the Haslemere and Godalming panel, the Farnham group is the only remaining panel in Waverley and one of the last remaining in Surrey.

David Coker, chairman of the Farnham Crime Prevention Panel, said: “We are proud to support the police by helping to build public awareness of ways to prevent crime to hopefully ensure that Farnham remains one of the safest localities in the country.

“However, none of this would happen without the help of volunteers and this evening we are here to present the John King Award to one such long-serving volunteer.

“John King was a previous chairman of the panel and sadly he passed away in 2009 and so the award was created in his memory to recognise the person or persons in our community that ‘go the extra mile’ to promote crime prevention and the reduction of crime.

“This year, the award goes to someone who has dedicated much of his spare time to the concept of crime prevention and reduction throughout our town and who, has given many years of voluntary service to the panel.

“David Seal began his involvement by assisting in the monitoring of the town’s first CCTV cameras at Farnham police station before the monitoring re-located to Guildford. He was also involved in the Speedwatch programme and of course supported the panel in all of its events.

“However, after more than 20 years volunteer service on the panel he has decided a little more ‘down time’ is appropriate – he has certainly earned it. We all owe our thanks for his hard work in helping towards keeping our local community more secure.”

Mr Seal responded by commending the late John King for his inspiration in making the crime prevention panel so successful.

Inspector Bridge also praised the panel for the important work it did in making Farnham a safe place in which to live, work or visit.