A project by a Feltham police constable to make the stronger arms of the law more familiar has been hailed a great success.

PC Sean McMahon, 36, organised a day at Southfields Community Centre, Bedfont, where families were introduced to police horses, incident response vehicles and even riot buses. 

Along with Noveen Philips, who runs the centre in Southville Road for youngsters aged between 11 and 17, and colleagues Sgt Brockway, PC Richards and PC Jones, PC McMahon arranged the community day on August 19 after being called to the centre to deal with anti-social behaviour on several occasions.

"We thought the riot buses would make it more interesting as they were big enough to fit lots of kids and have lots of gadgets they could press", said PC McMahon. 

The horses, normally used for football matches and major outdoors events such as the Notting Hill Carnival, were also enjoyed by the children.

PC McMahon said the event also served the purpose of reassuring the public with a visible police presence, as well as allowing the children and parents to meet the officers in a friendlier, more informal way. 

 "The day was a great success", he added. "A few youngsters were very interested and even asked about joining the cadets."