Leighton Buzzard PCSO and Dunstable Knit and Natter group receive letters from Prime Minister for charity work

A Leighton Buzzard PCSO and Dunstable knitting group were delighted to each receive a letter from the Prime Minister in recognition of their charity work.

Rachel Carne, of Bedfordshire Police, along with the ladies from Knit and Natter were thrilled to receive signed letters from Boris Johnson as he wanted to "pay tribute to their dedicated work".

Knit and Natter have been helping PSCO Carne with her community projects, and she told the Prime Minister about their hard work when she met him at the Police and National Crime Agency reception earlier this year.

Explaining how their partnership started, Pauline Richards, leader of Knit and Natter, said: "Rachel is totally amazing, I'm in awe of her really.

"She was talking to us about people who were really struggling in the community [during 2020] first of all, and asked if we could start making squares in pretty colours to make rainbow comfort blankets and show people that we care.

"I was donated lots of wool - I had to store it in my caravan(!) - and delivered it to people who needed different colours to knit the squares."

After the first successful project, there came many more, and Knit and Natter have helped PCSO Carne make several community gifts, including: big stockings for those in the care of social services, and small stockings as well as rainbow roses and butterflies to cheer up schoolchildren during the pandemic.

Pauline said: "Rachel told us that the children in the community were really finding it hard to be children when everything had stopped and asked if we could make rainbow gifts - butterflies for boys and roses for girls. The children were really quite pleased!

"We were also making stockings for a 'chocs and socks' project to give to the children."

PCSO Carne is now currently running a '999 Thin Blue Line Sock Appeal', which will see knitted socks filled with chocolates distributed to members of the emergency services who are in need of support.

The sweet treats have kindly been donated by local businesses and Rachel is appealing for volunteers to knit the socks.

Pauline added: "Rachel was concerned about members of the police force having time off for mental health reasons, and wanted to send the socks to their homes. It's not just the police force it's all the emergency services."

The kindhearted ladies also knitted a police teddy bear for the Prime Minister's son, Wilfred, which PCSO Carne handed over at the reception.

A rabbit is also being knitted for Wilfred's baby sister by Knit and Natter member, Nieves Rowlands. Andrew Selous MP will then deliver the bunny to the Johnsons.

PCSO Carne said: "The ladies were delighted that Boris had written to them following me giving him a police teddy for Wilfred. I was telling Boris how the ladies had done so much for the community over lockdown, which not only helped their mental health but showed kindness and support for others in this difficult time.

"Boris found the teddy for Wilfred really funny. He said it was a lovely idea and told me he would make sure that his son received it when he woke up - Wilfred was fast asleep when I gave it to him at the police reception in Downing Street."

The Knit and Natter group is held every Friday at 10:30am and its members would love anyone to join them at Christ Church Dunstable, West Street.

Pauline said: "We don't just knit, we do an awful lot of nattering. I think one of our aims is to have fun and help people in the community who are feeling a bit cut off, sometimes people have been suffering with depression or they have been grieving.

"Knit and Natter is a place where people can come together and become friends. It's a lovely group of people.

"Get out of the kitchen and let's get stitching!"

Pauline would like to say a special thank you to PCSO Carne and to Steve Neil, Community Evangelist, who comes into the group and talks to the ladies about the messages of the bible.

> PSCO Carne is looking for volunteers to knit 999 (nine hundred and ninety nine) socks for the '999 Thin Blue Line Sock Appeal - Happy Socks with Chocs'.

For further detail please email [email protected]Printed instruction sheets will be available from: Morrisons, Lake Street, Leighton Buzzard.

Please place the finished socks in the supermarket's food bank trolley, Morrisons, marked for the attention of PCSO Rachel CARNE