A POLICE officer from North Yorkshire has won a national award for community service.

PCSO Lynne Butler was honoured at the British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP) Awards, after she was nominated by Inspector Rachel Wood for her selfless acts.

PCSO Butler, who serves in Whitby, has been in the role for 10 years, and previously worked in a pet shop, but in recent years she has set up a boxing club in her spare time to help cut down on antisocial behaviour, and asked if she could dedicate half of her working week to a local secondary school, improving links with the young people she was dealing with.

Insp Wood, based at Newby Wiske, said in her nomination: “Lynne is a PCSO whose passion, dedication and commitment to the local community she serves knows no bounds.

“Lynne would be an extremely worthy and deserving winner of an International award – she epitomises everything that is good about British Policing. North Yorkshire Police is proud of her.”

Chief Constable Dave Jones said: “We are thrilled that Lynne’s work has been recognised in this way. We have some fantastic colleagues.” who go above and beyond to support our communities in North Yorkshire but its extra special when it is recognised nationally.”