Barry Schoolboy Meets His Heroes During Police Station Visit
A Barry schoolboy who penned a letter to his local police station has this week met the “heroes” he aspires to become.
In a letter addressed to ‘the chief of the Barry police department’, nine-year-old Ellis Nash wrote of his dream to join the police force and urged officers to “keep up the good work.”
He wrote: “I’ve loved policemen since I was young. I love your work, you save the country.
“Also you are my hero! When I grow up I want to be in the SWAT team. When I grow up I will fight crime.”
Impressed by the High Street Primary pupil’s enthusiasm – which also included a request to “see jail so I know what I’m in for in future” – new Chief Inspector for the Vale of Glamorgan, Lisa Gore, responded with a letter of her own, along with an invite for the youngster to visit Barry Police Station with his family.
CI Gore wrote: “It’s very kind of you to thank us for our good work and I’ll make sure that the officers in Barry are aware of your kind words.
“I can see that you would like to be in the SWAT team. We don’t have SWAT teams in the UK, they are in the USA, but we do have a firearms unit that maybe you could think about.”
She added: “Make sure that you keep fit and eat healthily though as you will have your fitness tested to be a police officer and to be a firearms officer you need to be really fit so it would be good to have good exercise and eating habits now.
“Also you need to work hard in school and concentrate in class. I know it’s not always easy but it’s important to get a good education so that you can pass the entrance exams to be a police officer.”
As well as meeting the Chief Inspector and Sergeant Julie Odgers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team earlier this week, the Nash family were also surprised with a visit from two firearms officers.
PCs Martyn Davies and Tony O’Hanlon explained their roles to Ellis and his sister Emily, seven, before showing them the wide range of equipment contained within their armed response vehicles.
The family were also given a tour of the station, including the former custody cells, before the children made fingerprint keyrings with Sgt Odgers as a keepsake of their special visit.
Inquisitive Ellis, who impressed the team with his knowledge and interest, said: “I wrote the letter because I really want to be a policeman when I’m older and I want to know as much about the job as I can. The visit has been so much fun – my favourite parts were seeing the guns and putting the sirens on in the police car.”
Chief Inspector Gore said: “It was a pleasure to have Ellis and his family in to see us at the station. Our officers work tirelessly to keep south Wales safe, and it’s always really heartening to receive positive feedback from the public, especially someone as young as Ellis.
“He has a genuine interest in the work we do and I hope the visit has further inspired him to follow his ambition.
“He’s learned all about our Police Youth Volunteer scheme which he sounded keen to take part in when he’s a little bit older, and I hope we’ll be welcoming him to the force in the 10 years’ time.”
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