Wiltshire Police's High Sheriff has praised officers for reducing the number of crashes on the county's roads.

On his penultimate day in office, Wiltshire's High Sheriff Pradeep Bhardwaj paid a visit to Wiltshire Police's headquarters in Devizes to honour the work of various police units in keeping the public safe on the roads.

The sheriff awarded certificates to the Roads Policing Unit, Serious Collision Investigation Team, Forensic Collision Investigation Unit, Speed Enforcement Team and Special Road Safety Unit.

All of these teams work tirelessly to prevent crime on the roads by targeting crime in Wiltshire, and when a collision does occur teams such as the Forensic Collision Investigation Unit work to reduce the chances of a similar incident from taking place.

“Today is to celebrate the hard work that each one of you does," High Sheriff Pradeep Bhardwaj told the officers.

“I’d like to personally thank each one of you for all the good things you do day in and day out.

“All five of the teams have worked together to help reduce serious and fatal collisions in Wiltshire by 25 per cent in the last year," he added.

“We all agree that one serious or fatal collision is one too many and we cannot count how many lives these teams have saved.”

Swindon Advertiser: Many of the teams praised by the Sheriff work in extremely distressing situations to save lives.Many of the teams praised by the Sheriff work in extremely distressing situations to save lives. (Image: Wiltshire Police)

The collaborative project mentioned by the Sheriff is the force's campaign to target the 'fatal five' road offences, which resulted in a huge reduction in the number of serious collisions last year.

Project Zero, which sees police stake out key hotspots for dangerous drivers, plays a huge part in this.

Not many members of the public realise that some of the units recognised, such as the Specials Road Safety Unit, are volunteer units run by officers giving up their free time to aid the Road Policing Unit.

The Serious Collision Investigation Team, who often work in extremely distressing circumstances, saw 38 per cent of collisions attended in 2023 either charged or with a case being built as a potential prosecution case.

Chief Constable Catherine Roper, who also attended the awards ceremony, who added: “These teams work incredibly hard to make sure we’re safe on our roads.

“The success of the road safety campaign last year is a testament to the incredible amount of work that they do and continue to do to ensure that the public is as safe as possible on our roads.

“It is right that they are recognised for their outstanding work.”