THE next batch of hopefuls who hope to volunteer and work alongside Gwent Police’s officers were put through their paces at a fitness course on Saturday.

All people passed and are looking become special constables. They will shortly complete the final tests which will allow them to become a volunteer in the force, working on the beat for at least 16 hours a month.

The 20 people, who were made up equally of men and women, were assessed by Gwent Police’s special chief officer Richard Jones, who also works as a HR manager for Newport firm Abbeyfield.

He said: “Ages range from someone who had just left school to someone who had left the army, from 18 to 45.”

At Gwent Police’s headquarters on Turnpike Road in Cwmbran, potential recruits underwent a running bleep test and examination of their strength in a push and pull test. Fitness tests have been mandatory for all police officers since last September.

Of his own volunteering in the police force, the special chief officer added: “I always had an interest in the police. I joined the Royal Navy when I was 17 instead of the police. I didn’t get the policing out of my system.”

He has been a special constable for 13 years and joined Gwent Police last year from the British Transport Police. During that time, he has policed at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in April 2011 and helped with order at London’s New Year celebrations.

In May, 15 new special constables joined the force at a special ceremony at the Lysaght Institute in Newport. They now work alongside regular officers across Gwent.

The next stage of the training for officers who attended on Saturday will be a biometric test.

Once they have passed their training, they will work alongside officers and wear the same uniform while on duty - although their epaulettes will be marked with SC rather than PC for police constables.

There is no minimum or maximum height for potential special constables. Anyone can apply to become one as long as they are from the European Economic Area (EEA), are a Commonwealth citizen, have no restrictions on their stay in the UK and do not work in some occupations that are excluded. Those include being a member of the armed forces or working as security officers, in law or as PSCOs.