A COMMUNITY speed watch volunteer says he has no plans to slow down having just celebrated his 90th birthday.
Dorset Police marked the birthday of Branksome Park’s Community Speed Watch group member Chris Christie by presenting him with a certificate and card to thank him for the contribution he makes to improving road safety.
Chris has been a volunteer since 2019 and is one of a team of 12 people who regularly give up their spare time to reduce speeding in the Branksome area of Poole.
Becoming a nonagenarian on Tuesday, May 3, Chris was joined by Sergeant Sophie Williams of Poole Neighbourhood Policing Team, road safety operations manager Brian Austin, and road safety head Mark Armstrong, who presented him with a certificate for services to local policing and a shield on behalf of Chief Constable Scott Chilton.
Chris, who worked for 40 years in the Royal Air Force, said he was ‘flummoxed’ by the presentation. “I certainly wasn’t expecting this,” he said.
“I enjoy volunteering for Community Speed Watch and wanted to be involved because I wanted to do something for the community.
“It really makes a difference for us to be seen more than anything and I really do think it helps to reduce the average speeder and puts people off speeding in the first place.
“I don’t think turning 90 will impact on my volunteering and plan to continue.”
Brian Austin said: “Chris is our oldest Community Speed Watch volunteer and his dedication to his community in Branksome is incredible. He is one of an army of volunteers across Dorset who play an important role in helping to make our roads safer.”
Mr Chilton said: “I am extremely grateful to all our volunteers who give up their valuable time each week to help make Dorset a safe county for everyone.
“It is remarkable that Chris is such an active member of Community Speed Watch at the age of 90 and I would like to thank him for the service he has carried out to help protect our road users.”
Community Speed Watch teams use radar detection devices to monitor drivers exceeding the speed limit at locations agreed with Dorset Police.
Visit dorsetroadsafe.org.uk/enforcement-operations/community-speed-watch/ for more information.
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