THE Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, Steve Pilkington, was in Yeovil last week to present the town with a prestigious crime-busting award.

Stores and businesses, which make up the Yeovil Retail Crime Reduction Team, have been given the coveted Safer Shopping Award in recognition of the battle against town centre crime.

Yeovil has become the first shopping area within the constabulary area to have won the award given by the Business Crime Check Arm of the British Retail Consortium.

Police have worked closely with the YRCRT members to ensure they met the tough criteria demanded by the consortium. Town centre manager Nina Higgins said the award was the result of good teamwork and showed the importance of partnerships in tackling crime.

And she added: "We are going to send out a tough signal that here in Yeovil we will not tolerate the retail crime and anti-social behaviour that is becoming so apparent across the country."

The award is only given where a retail crime reduction initiative is in place that meets the standards of the consortium. It was the photograph exchange scheme - whereby pictures of known offenders are circulated to businesses in the YRCRT - that helped land the award.

A total of 100 firms have signed up to the scheme and an album of mugshots has been produced which now contains ten known offenders.

The town's radio link scheme which means stores can alert each other to criminal activity, backed up by the CCTV system now in place, also helped the YRCRT claim the award.

The Yeovil Pubwatch scheme, aimed at cutting alcohol associated violence and disorder, has also played its part in making Yeovil a safer place for all.