A BARRHEAD man has won an award for his efforts as a special constable.

Colin McKellar has been named Special Constable of the Year in recognition of his voluntary work in K Division, which covers Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

The dad-of-two said he is honoured that his peers think so highly of him.

“I was delighted to get the award,” Colin told the Barrhead News. “I like to just do the job and go home again without any great fuss, so having my picture taken and all this is a bit of a novelty.

“I would like to thank Constable Audrey Paul for putting me forward for this award.”

The Special Constabulary is a part-time volunteer body made up of officers with identical powers to those of ‘regular’ cops.

Those who sign up are asked to perform a diverse role that could include everything from policing football matches to patrolling the streets of their local community.

Colin has been involved in response and community policing in Johnstone, Renfrew and Paisley.

In his youth, he considered becoming a police officer but ended up working in IT.

Colin said: “I saw an advert many moons ago for the role of special constable and I didn’t know what they even were.

“When I found out it was a frontline role, I thought it could be more interesting than sitting in front of a keyboard all day long.

“I enjoy it because you’re out there and you get to help other people.

“If you’re able to keep someone safe, it gives you a good feeling at the end of the shift that you’ve actually done something to help someone else.”

Being part of the uniformed services is a trait which runs in the family, as Colin is a relative of famous RAF flying ace Archie McKellar, from Paisley, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar and the Distinguished Service Order in 1939 for shooting down 21 enemy aircraft in one day.

Colin said: “My grandfather and Archie’s father were first cousins, so my dad and two uncles knew Archie and used to visit him on Sunday afternoons when the families would all get together.

“Both my grandfathers served in the First World War and my dad was 18 when he landed in Normandy on D-Day.”

Colin plans to continue his duties as a special constable for the foreseeable future and is encouraging others to sign up.

He added: “I would recommend it to anybody. It’s a great way of finding out if you want to become a full-time officer.”

To find out more, visit here.