AN Abergavenny police officer whose charity work on behalf of the elderly fills most of his free time has been recognised with a rarely-given award from the High Sheriff of Gwent.

Jon Williams has been given the Annual Award for Exceptional citizenship by High Sheriff, Kevin Thomas JP for his outstanding contribution to the safety of the older adult community.

Jon, who has been crime fighting for more than 20 years,is lead volunteer for the Senior Citizen Liaison Team - a charity which helps protect the elderly from frauds and scams via mail, telephone and online.

In addition, Jon volunteers with the War Memorials Trust and as a caseworker with the Soldiers Sailors and Air Force Association.

Jon’s contribution to the Senior Citizen Liaison Team involves giving safety presentations to groups such as U3A, the Women’s Institute and the Alzheimer’s Society.

‘Older adults are often the most vulnerable people in our communities and are frequently targeted by heartless criminals who seek to exploit them; we hope to forewarn them of the dangers of trusting their details to strangers,’ Jon stated.

Jon is also the editor-in-chief of ‘Senior Siren’ the magazine of the Senior Citizen Liaison Team which is made available to 250,000 readers each quarter.

He has expanded the charity to cater for older adults who may be additionally vulnerable to deception crime through not having English as a first language or other additional cultural barriers.

The Senior Citizen Liaison Team Charity has been recognised as a ground-breaking initiative with a number of significant awards, most notably the Prime Minister’s ‘Big Society’ Award in 2013 and the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2015. The Charity also received first prize in the UN Public Service Awards at the United Nations in The Hague in June 2017.

High Sheriff, Kevin Thomas commented, ‘The work of Jon Williams in ensuring the safety of the older community in Abergavenny & beyond has been truly outstanding.

‘The curse of Alzheimer’s disease is rarely out of the headlines these days, and I have been struck by Jon’s determination to do something about it in the form of bespoke safety presentations to individuals suffering from this and other cognitive impairments.

‘Jon is truly an unsung hero and I have no hesitation in presenting him with a High Sheriff of Gwent Award for 2017. All of us can play a part in watching out for elder members of our community and Jon is an example and an inspiration, to us all’.