Youngsters got to stroke police horses and sit in police cars at a family fun day in London Fields at the weekend to raise awareness of the Met’s work.

Safer transport police were “security tagging” bikes to discourage cycle theft, and Deputy Mayor for Policing Stephen Greenhalgh turned up to hand out prizes to the winners of a school competition to design a crime prevention poster, which will be displayed at local estates.

An iPad and Play Station 4 game console were up for grabs in the raffle, and Mr Greenhalgh picked the winning tickets in a raffle.

Insp Ian Simpkins, who was moved when a little girl who had bought just £2 worth of tickets with her friend won the first prize, thanked Shoreditch Pubwatch and Air Locations for donating £1225 towards the prizes, and Argos for discounting them.

He said: “The little girl sat expectantly in the front row during the draw and as each prize went to another she became more anxious, as we got to the last prize she started calling out 276, 276, 276 to Stephen Greenhalgh.

“The number that came out was 277 and it took her a second to realise that in her strip of five tickets she had 277.

“Her face was an absolute picture, ecstatic would be an understatement - I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

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