FOLLOWING a four-day investigation after a man was stabbed in Union Street, Trowbridge, earlier this year, the police officers responsible for helping to catch the offender have been recognised for their outstanding team work.

Detective Constable Tony Swift, acting Detective Sergeant Sam Hopkinson, Detective Constable Andy Henson and Detective Constable Cerys Powell all received an award at the annual force awards held in Devizes Corn Exchange on Thursday evening.

The investigation into the case led to the capture and subsequent jailing of Lewis Morrison, who had first launched an unprovoked attack on the man in Union Street and then gone on to assault a man in his home on West Street on February 25. Morrison, who told a court in April he had committed the offences while under the influence of legal highs, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and made the subject of a dangerous offender order.

"The award recognises some of the officers involved," DC Swift said. "There were quite a number of officers on this case and quite a lot of team work at the scene.

"The offender was outstanding for a couple of days and the victim did not want much police involvement, so we had to rely on old school police methods and many hours were spent reviewing CCTV and doing a lot of forensics.

"Without the important team work of CID, officers from Trowbridge and Melksham and PSCOs we would not have been able to build the picture up of what had occurred."

The result of the dramatic case was also a personal triumph for DC Swift, as he received an award in his first year at Wiltshire Police. The 41-year-old, who previously spent 19 years with the Avon and Somerset force, said his colleagues at Wiltshire have been very welcoming.

DC Swift and DS Hopkinson are both stationed at Salisbury, while DC Henson works in Trowbridge and DC Powell in Devizes. They all received the Chief Constable's outstanding teamwork award.

Superintendent Sean Memory said: "This was an excellent example of the community policing team working together in securing a substantial sentence and a very dangerous offender being removed from our streets."