On Wednesday, 23rd December, officers from Tandridge's Safer Neighbourhood Team joined forces with the Caterham community to clear an icy road ensuring residents could keep on moving.

Local Neighbourhood Specialist Officer PC Jo Clarke was joined by colleagues from the neighbourhood team and together with residents they all dug deep to shift thick ice from Beechwood Gardens. More than 20 residents of all ages came out to assist providing shovels, spades and brooms and set about clearing ice from the road.

PC Jo Clarke said: "There was a fantastic sense of community spirit with everyone pulling together to clear the ice. At the top of Beechwood Gardens is a residential home for the elderly so we cleared the bottom half of the road making the journey to the top less treacherous for staff and nurses. The Highways Agency attended and gritted the road which enabled those who live there to move around more freely."

Tandridge Neighbourhood Inspector Elaine Burtenshaw added: "The adverse weather conditions caused misery for local residents and on Monday some of my staff were unable to make it home and ended up sleeping at the police station. However, sadly some people have taken their frustrations out on my officers becoming verbally abusive when we are out there trying to keep people safe and helping wherever possible to keep traffic moving. I was delighted to see so many residents turning out to support my officers in order to make their road safe for all to use."

One local resident described the community atmosphere as "A bit warlike'. She said: "I tried to drive my van and skidded half way down the road. I was terrified to be honest. But once the police arrived we all got on board and borrowed brooms and anything else we could lay our hands on to clear the ice."