VOLUNTEER police cadets in Swindon have celebrated their fundraising activity for the year in their annual attestation ceremony.

During the evening a cheque for £1,604 was presented to local charity Threshold by High Sheriff Nicky Alberry and Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson for the work it does to provide short, medium and long-term accommodation to homeless people in Swindon.

The money was raised by the Swindon cadets’ annual sponsored sleep out.

In total, 45 cadets aged 13-17 took part in the event in December at the police headquarters in Devizes, which pledged £3,279.58 for homeless charities across Swindon and Wiltshire.

Mr Macpherson said: “It is important that our communities play an active part in policing.

“Through cadets young people have the opportunity to take up this role and I am pleased to say that they do so with enthusiasm.

“One example of this is the annual sleep out to raise money and awareness for homeless charities.

“I am delighted that once again the cadets wanted to do this for the benefit of their communities and their commitment has resulted in a substantial to amount of money being raised for charity.

He added: “The sleep out is a good opportunity for the cadets to experience what it is like to be homeless, but unlike many homeless young people this was something we only had to experience once before heading home to the warm.

“Opportunities like this are a great learning experience for our cadets. It helps them to understand others in our society and the challenges they may face.”

A total of 23 newly-trained cadets stood up in front of friends and family to swear an oath on their commitment to the scheme.

They were all presented with certificates and new epaulettes in recognition of their successful completion of basic level training.

The remainder of the cash raised will be presented next month.