Volunteer police cadets from St Albans and Harpenden were crowned winners of the 2015 County Cadet Competition which took place at Hertfordshire Police Headquarters in Welwyn Garden City.

Cadets, aged between 14 and 18-years-old, from Broxbourne, East Herts, Dacorum, Hertsmere, North Herts, St Albans and Harpenden, Stevenage, Three Rivers, Watford and Welwyn and Hatfield, had 11 scenarios and team building exercises to complete during the competition which took place on Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12.

These included a road traffic collision, a hostage rescue assault course, a 500 metre shield run, where the cadets has to run with heavy riot shields wearing a riot helmet, arresting suspects in a mock shoplifting scenario as well as giving evidence in court in front of real life magistrates and lawyers, who volunteered their time to help the cadets.

While St Albans and Harpenden police cadets were overall winners of the weekend, Welwyn and Hatfield and North Herts cadets were a close second and third place.

St Albans Chief Inspector, Ken Townsend said: “The cadets do some great work within the community and I am immensely proud of those who represented St Albans and Harpenden at the County Competition.

“Throughout the weekend they showed great commitment, professionalism and teamwork in all the tasks they had to undertake and they should be extremely proud of themselves.”

Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, David Lloyd, added: “I was pleased to learn that the number of cadets in Hertfordshire has grown since last year.

“I am a strong believer in the role that Cadets can play in keeping our community safe and promoting volunteering opportunities is a key part of my Police and Crime Plan for Hertfordshire.

“The experience, confidence and skills that these Cadets are learning now will no doubt help them in the years to come wherever their education and career paths take them.

“I was very impressed with the commitment I saw from them this weekend and enjoyed seeing the many proud faces among their families and friends in attendance.”