Mike Foston

Following a rather nasty burglary at his home and in discussions with the Police, it became clear that there was a mini crime-wave in Mike's home locality and residents weren't aware and needed allerting to avoid further upset and distress. In consultation with the Police Mike offered, in his own time and with no support from the Police, to set up a community website (he is one of Commercial Finance's IT guys) to help make the local community aware. This had the objective of sharing information across the local community to reduce crime and post positive communication/ news stories to engender a sense of community and reduce the crime epicemic. So successful has Mike's initiative been that he has been awarded a Borough Commander's Commendation Award at a formal Community Ceremony.

Significant reduction in the number of burglaries within the area and Mike developed a real sense of engagement with his local police force. He continues to run the site, even though the initial driver for it has gone. The stance Mike took inspired others to get involved and help through the local community office, where 12 months on, members of the community still gather to discuss how they can improve the local environment as a result of Mike's initiative. The Police have formally approached Mike recently to expand the scope and influence of the web site/initiative to cover a much broader area of his community. The local MP has now asked to meet Mike to understand how he can help the site. The site mentions it has been supported (time commitment) by LTSB CF.