THE Hinkley Point policing team doubled its capacity in January from two officers to four to support the community during the building of Hinkley C.

The officers say they are there to help residents with concerns about the build, liaising with protesters, advising on getting large loads in and out of the area, visiting schools to teach students about road safety, and engaging with the workforce from the UK and mainland Europe.

Sgt Steve Crago has worked on the project since the beginning of summer, 2010, guiding the force through the planning process to ensure that it gains suitable resources to police the construction.

Steve has been with the force for 34 years, working with the CID, the drugs team and the crime unit.

Hinkley has presented a new opportunity for him, and he has been approached for advice by other police forces with similar constructions planned in the future.

He said: “Of the eight proposed nuclear developments sites across the UK, Hinkley C has made the most progress towards construction.

“Avon and Somerset are unique in that we have two developments on our patch – Hinkley and Oldbury, South Gloucestershire.

“Other police forces are liaising with us to see how we police the build and are starting to copy our model, which has been extremely successful to date.”

PCSO Sue Marks was looking for a career change and seized the opportunity to do something completely different on her doorstep.

She started her career as a traffic warden 17 years ago and joined Steve to form the beginnings of the Hinkley policing team.

Sue said: “It’s a nice team and we all work well together. The increase in two new officers has been seamless.

“What inspires me every day is the fact that we never know what to expect.”

This is a feeling echoed by newcomer PC Esther Lawson, who joined in January, bringing four years’ experience on the response team at Taunton and five years as a beat manager at Brean.

“I wanted a new challenge and was open to new opportunities,” she said. “There has been a lot to learn, particularly around how this part of Somerset will host an infrastructure project of national significance.”

Completing the team is PC Dave Masters, who joined the force in 2002 and was beat manager for nine years at Williton after being with the res-ponse team at Taunton for four years.

Dave said he was inspired to join the team because it is always changing and evolving.

“We know our roles, but how we achieve it is new ground for us all in the team.

“The team will continue to evolve as the project gathers pace.”