THREE new faces have joined the beat at Knutsford Police Station.

Sergeant Alison Howarth, Sergeant Paul Heatley and PCSO Christopher Munro are new additions to the station’s policing team, all joining within weeks of each other.

All three said they were looking forward to getting to know the area and to promoting community engagement.

“I am thoroughly excited to be part of the now, full strength Knutsford PCSO team,” said PCSO Munro, whose beat is the town centre and Longridge.

“I intend on integrating myself over the coming weeks and tackle any of the communities’ policing issues. I understand the importance of having a patrol out and about on the streets, it is something that is important to the public and brings reassurance.

“I am delighted to have been posted to Knutsford and intend on making a difference.”

Whilst PCSO Munro is starting out his career at Knutsford, Sergeants Howarth and Heatley bring years of experience with them.

Sergeant Heatley began his career as a community officer in 2005. After a few years at Congleton, he moved to Crewe where he worked as a response officer and then a NPU officer.

“I was promoted to the rank of sergeant recently and was delighted to be given the opportunity to work in the Knutsford area,” he said.

“I will be involved in the managing of day to day live incidents as well as crime investigations.

“I am looking forward to getting to know the area and people. I will be particularly concentrating on the area of theft from motor vehicles.”

Sergeant Howarth has been with the force for ten years and comes to Knutsford from Warrington following a recent promotion. She said she is really pleased to be joining the team as the Communities Sergeant.

She added: “As a qualified detective, I intend on using my investigative skills to ensure that we deliver the very best of service to the victims of crime in the area and maximise opportunities to detect crime and bring offenders to justice.”

Sergeant Howarth said, as the supervisor of four PCSOs, she is keen to increase opportunities for community engagement by running events in the town and surrounding villages. She also encourages the public to get to know the policing team by visiting policing surgeries, reading the newsletters and following Knutsford Police on Twitter, @KnutsfordNPU.

“We also communicate crime prevention messages via the community alerts system, members of the public can sign up to this system by visiting cheshirepolicealert.co.uk and following the specific instructions of how to register,” she added.

“If anyone has any queries then please feel free to contact me directly at the police station to facilitate membership.

“I look forward to working with the community to ensure that Knutsford remains a safe place to live and that the relationship between the police and the community is enhanced to the benefit of all.”