JUST two and a half years after changing his occupation from bus driver to traffic warden, David Chapple from Tavistock has received a top honour from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.

Tavistock?s traffic warden has been awarded the Commander?s Commendation for his consistent good work and keen attention to duty.

Since joining Tavistock Police Station in September 2001, Mr Chapple has issued more than 1,500 fixed penalty notices ? but his duties go way beyond handing out parking fines.

Attending scenes of crime, road traffic accidents and breakdowns, fires and unexploded bombs to providing traffic control and general assistance is all in a day?s work for Mr Chapple, so too is locating pick-pockets and shoplifters and dealing with all sorts of vehicle crime.

He is a firearms safety expert and having been brought up at Merrivale is a fount of all knowledge on Dartmoor, helping new officers to find their bearings.

A member of the West Devon Community Safety Partnership dealing with vehicle crime and arson on the moor, Mr Chapple has a healthy interest in his work and has not looked back since the day he joined.

?The funny thing is my wife was looking for a part-time job at the time and I suggested she be a traffic warden because I thought she would be good at it,? he said.

?Instead, she became a postwoman and I applied for the job of traffic warden at Tavistock. I had been a bus driver for ten years and was ready for a change.

?The great thing about this job is that it is so varied and you never know what is going to happen next. I also get a lot less grief than I had on the buses and I have a bit of a giggle with the public.?

The commendation presented at a special police awards ceremony in Totnes yesterday (Wednesday) will mention the recipient?s involvement in diffusing a situation where a man had barricaded himself in his bathroom, threatening to harm himself with a knife. It will also highlight Mr Chapple?s assistance in the arrest of a violent drunk driver.

With a large area of West Devon and Dartmoor to cover, the traffic warden has to divide his time accordingly: ?I go all over the place but never follow a routine,? he said.

?Meeting people is one of the aspects I enjoy most and some days I almost lose my voice from talking so much.?

The traffic warden is very modest about his commendation which he was recommended for by his colleagues: ?It was a total surprise,? he said. ?As far as I am concerned I am just getting on with my job.?

West Devon Sgt Richard Nettleship said Mr Chapple was an absolute asset to the station.

?He is good at his job and he certainly has his work cut out at Tavistock with traffic issues and work going on in the town centre with the redevelopment of shops,? he said.

?He is also good at using his initiative and is very vigilant when it comes to spotting anything suspicious. He very often sees things first and this is a great help to the police.?