A police cadet named the best in London has told how joining the voluntary group helped her turn her life around.

Ayesha Razzaq, of Raleigh Road, Feltham, was last Wednesday (January 22) named best cadet at the Excellence in Total Policing Awards.

When the 18-year-old joined Hounslow Police Cadets, she had already been in trouble with the law and, as she puts it, was definitely not ‘pro-police’.

But joining officers on the beat and helping them steward events transformed her view of the force and persuaded her to pursue a career with the Metropolitan Police.

The former Heathland School pupil has already passed the first step in training to be a volunteer special constable, a role she hopes will lead to a paid job.

She is keen to change what she says is a predominantly anti-police attitude among youths by showing them officers are ordinary people doing an important job.

“I wasn’t very pro-police when I started as a cadet. I’d been in trouble with the law and I joined the cadets for the social side of things. I was a bit of a princess, relying on others to do things for me,” she says.

“But going out with officers showed me they were just like us, and the support I’ve received through the cadets has made me determined to join the police.

“I saw how bad things could get for me and how disappointed my family were and that really kicked me into sorting things out.

“A lot of young people are against the police, especially after the riots, but I want to change their perceptions.”

As a cadet, Ayesha has stewarded a number of events, including the Olympic and Paralympic medal-winners’ parade through London. Other duties have included carrying out alcohol and cigarette test purchases, and distributing leaflets with crime prevention advice.

But perhaps her biggest contribution has been helping to set up Hounslow’s junior cadet force, which was only the second in London to be formed.

She found the venue with her friend Amber Flower and helps run the sessions at Feltham Community College every Wednesday, where 10 to 13-year-olds learn about police work and enjoy games.

Ayesha’s younger sister Amina, aged 11, is a junior cadet, while her 14-year-old sister Kiran, one of seven siblings, is in the senior cadet force.