Hillingdon Police has welcomed 15 new officers to the force to keep borough people safe, and more are on their way.

The officers have finished 12 weeks of central training and will now continue their training across Hillingdon for the next six weeks.

After that, they will be posted to Safer Neighbourhood and Response Teams.

Chief Inspector Richard Wilson said: "I am really pleased to have been allocated 15 new officers to keep the residents and businesses of Hillingdon safe.

"Over the next few months we expect to see at least another 20 new officers join Hillingdon . These officers will make a real difference to the visibility and support that Hillingdon Police are able to give to its citizens.

"We are proud to have so many new officers joining us to make Hillingdon a safer place to live, work and enjoy."

Cuts in the Metropolitan Police have meant the borough, like most, has experienced station closures and a reduction in officers in recent years but things are turning around  .

When the local policing model was implemented last year, the borough was about 60 officers below the designated number, with promises that things would improve by 2015.

Instead, Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Downing, who took up the post of Borough Commander at the beginning of the month , said he expects to be back up to strength by August this year.