Police are handing out swim vouchers to youngsters showing good citizenship at North Walsham.

Youngsters spotted being good citizens are set to get swimming vouchers to reward their actions in a north Norfolk town.

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The scheme will be launched at North Walsham next month, aimed at giving a pat on the back to young people behaving in a public-spirited way.

The vouchers will be given to youngsters helping members of the public or putting litter into bins in a project that has worked in a previous trial in the town, and could be extended to the rest of north Norfolk in the future.

Sgt Kersty Brooks said the youngsters getting the vouchers would have to be spotted by or nominated to the local Safer Neighbourhood Team.

“We are not going to give them to youngsters who put a piece of rubbish in the bin 
knowing we are coming along. It has to be people doing it genuinely and spontaneously,” she said.

Fifty swim vouchers, donated by DC Leisure, which runs the Victory pool, were handed out in an earlier pilot scheme linked to encouraging young people not to drop litter.

The new scheme would involve 500 vouchers, and take a more wide-ranging look at youngsters’ behaviour.

“They will be to reinforce good behaviour – like the young people who helped us search for a missing 14-year-old recently, or those helping people who have fallen over, or who have been victims,” added Sgt Brooks, who said it promoted good citizenship. “We hope that by reinforcing positive behaviour, community-spirited youngsters will see that their efforts don’t go unrecognised by the community.”

North Norfolk District Council is looking to see if the scheme can be expanded to other towns such as Sheringham and Fakenham where DC Leisure also runs pools, and it is also hoped to get schools involved.

l Anyone wanting to see a youngster rewarded for good behaviour can contact the SNT team on 0845 456 4567 or email sntnorthwalsham@norfolk.pnn.police.uk