A call handler has been officially recognised after helping to reduce the number of nuisance calls to Sussex Police.

It is estimated Sarah-Louise Gliddon has helped to reduce the hoaxes and persistent callers by 10,000 per year.

Sarah-Louise, who has worked for Sussex Police for 15 years, identified certain callers who would phone about non-police matters.  She soon discovered 279 people were responsible for over 20,000 nuisance calls in one year alone.

Each case was investigated.  Some people were fined, whereas others, such as dementia sufferers, were given assistance through outside organisations.

Her work has now been recognised nationally as ground-breaking with the accolade of National Police Chief’s Council Local Policing Award for Contact Handler of the Year.