A PART-TIME policewoman is being given a national honour this week for her work in some of the region's most remote dales communities.

Mother-of-three Inspector Michelle Robson was Durham's first female parish constable when she joined the specials nine years ago.

On Tuesday she will receive a community service award from the British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP), which gives her a chance of winning the overall Officer of the Year title.

As well as patrolling the eight villages around her home in Upper Weardale, she has to fit in administrative duties and set aside time for her family and professional life.

With her husband Steve, she cares not just for her family but also three people with learning difficulties who share their home in Ireshopeburn.

She is also a school governor, Women's Institute treasurer and a trustee at Ireshopeburn Institute.

She runs the village Sunday School and is also involved with World Vision, a charity overseeing self-help projects in developing countries.

Despite her long lists of commitments, she has no complaints about her workload and manages to set aside weekends as a time when her family come first.

She said: "I volunteered to join because I wanted to keep the area where I live a safe place in which my kids could grow up.

"It is a lovely part of the world and for somewhere thought of as being a quiet country backwater, there is always something going on.

"There is a lot to do but it is very rewarding. I am the first police point of contact for a lot of people who want to report something to the police or maybe just want reassurance.

"I work closely with the regular officers and do a lot of work in schools giving talks on things like stranger danger and what to do in emergencies.

"As an inspector, there is paper work to fit in so I am always busy.

"Durham Constabulary are forward thinking as far as the specials are concerned and we all feel valued and recognised as a asset.

"We are hoping to increase our numbers greatly of the next few months."

At Tuesday's ceremony, held during the BAWP's Spring Development Day in Warwickshire, PC Alison Fawcett, of Cleveland Police, is Highly Commended in the same community service category.