THE county's Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner took a trip down memory lane when she went on duty in Colchester.

Jane Gardner joined Special Constables in her old stomping ground.

Jane served as a Special Constable in Colchester for eight years.

Starting her volunteer policing career in the town in 2001, Jane helped to keep the town safe by policing the area, the night time economy and football matches.

She climbed the ranks to Chief Inspector and finished her career as an Acting Superintendent before she sadly had to hang up her boots due to a knee injury.

In three years Essex Police’s Special Constabulary has grown from 350 volunteer police officers to more than 530.

A total of 15 Special Constables volunteered their time in Colchester to keep the town safe.

Jane was crewed with Special Inspectors Robbie Boyle and Mark Barham who are the officers who tutored her when she was a Special in the district. The pair have almost 60 years of policing experience between them.

In seven hours they went from disturbances in pubs to searching for missing people, putting a rolling road block on the A12 to protect a motorist who had broken down to helping a victim of domestic abuse.

Jane said: “I was delighted to be back in Colchester. Spending the night with the team gave me a real insight into the challenges faced and what we need to look at to help support them as we move forward with our Police and Crime Plan.

“Roger Hirst is committed to growing the Special Constabulary. We really do appreciate the time given by our Specials who volunteer in their communities to help keep Essex safe and thank them wholeheartedly for what they do.”

If you would like to become a Special Constable, apply online at www.essex.police.uk/Specials.