Midweek Herald reporter Katy Griffin joins police out on patrol in Honiton.

It was just a ‘typical’ Friday night out on patrol, writes Katy Griffin, who joined officers from Honiton’s neighbourhood policing team.

Katy joined Sergeant Martin Burrow and PC Mark Carnall to see what life’s like on the beat.

She explains...

I did not know what to expect when I went out on patrol, but I was keen to observe and have the opportunity to ride in a police car without having to be arrested.

I ended up at the custody suite in Exeter anyway!

The shift started with a patrol of Allhallows Playing Field to ensure there weren’t any young people drinking alcohol - to avoid incidents of anti-social behaviour.

Police are currently cracking down on speeding drivers after residents raised the issue as one of their main concerns and gave me a demonstration on how speed guns are used.

Two fixed penalties were issued to drivers in a half hour period. They were caught exceeding the 30mph speed limit in Battishorne Way and will each receive a �60 fine and three penalty points on their driving licences.

We then patrolled hot spot areas in the town, known for anti-social driving, such as Tesco’s, the Cattle Market, High Street, Dowell Street and Lace Walk car park, but all was quiet.

The police, along with the Community Safety Partnership, have been working hard to resolve the problem in the town.

We then went out to industrial estates in the area to check for any criminal activity. All was quiet.

Nearing the end of the night, we went out on repeated patrols around the town centre to ensure there was no alcohol-related anti-social behaviour occurring.

One man was later arrested for committing a Section 5 public order offence and was taken to the custody suite in Exeter.

Sergeant Burrow said: “It has been a typical night for Honiton.

“There has not been a huge amount of problems, but the ones, so far, we have dealt with.”

He added: “The prisoner we came across was loud and offensive and, due to members of the public being around and the recent complaints of late night noise, was arrested to prevent harassment, alarm or distress to members of the public.

“Despite repeated abuse and obscenities towards the police, we tried to deal with the matter with as much discretion to try to ensure we remained in town.

“However, despite our trying to give him options, he had to be taken to Exeter.”

The man involved was given an �80 penalty notice for the disorder and released.