South Wales Police

A Police Community Support Officer in Pontypridd is clocking up more than 12 kilometres a day walking his beat.

PCSO Andrew Thomas, who is part of the Taff Neighbourhood Policing Team, is known by colleagues and his community for his constant foot patrol in sun, rain and even snow.

But after fixing a pedometer to his belt it is official – Andrew walks more than any other PCSO in South Wales walking an average of 12 kilometres or seven miles a day.

Andrew, 43, who is from the Rhondda, said: “The force recently took part in Men’s Health Week to encourage officers to keep fit, eat healthily and generally keep themselves in good shape.

“During the week I was given a pedometer to see how far I was walking during my eight-hour shifts. I always knew I covered a lot of ground but I was still surprised when the results came back - I walked 45 miles in six days which breaks down into 121,000 steps.

“My foot patrols hopefully mean I am visible to the community and I often have residents coming up to me telling me about concerns they have. I enjoy meeting people and helping to solve every day little problems which have a big impact on their lives.”

Andrew became a PCSO in June 2009 and has always covered the Rhondda Ward which is one of the biggest in Pontypridd.

While on patrol he will often alert car and home owners to a door or window that has been left open to prevent them from being a victim of crime.

Inspector Lee Porter, head of the Taff Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “PCSOs within neighbourhood policing teams provide a valuable visible presence in our communities by spending almost all of their time on the beat.

“Clearly Andrew goes several steps further than some as he covers such a large area and like all our PCSOs he is fully committed to seeing as many people in his community as possible.”