THE long arm of the law stretched all the way to Trellech Primary School when Keith Turner, Chief Constable of Gwent Police, made a special visit to watch the school's most recent Gateway Rugby session.

Mrs Linda Beavan, Headteacher at Trellech said, "The children are always very excited when it‚s time for Gateway Rugby. We knew that rugby internationals Rod Snow and David Llewelyn were due to visit but no-one expected a uniformed Mr Turner to show up! Needless to say, all the children were delighted to see him."

David Watkins, Gateway Rugby's Chairman and President, said, "You can just imagine how busy a Chief Constable's schedule must be, so for Keith Turner to make the effort to get to see Gateway Rugby in action speaks volumes for both his personal commitment, and the commitment of Gwent Police generally, to Gateway Rugby. When we were putting Gateway Rugby together, it was always very important to us to involve the Police, and Keith and his staff have always been on hand to advise on the scheme's social aspects."

Mr Turner watched 45 minutes of activity where 30 pupils were put through their paces by Gateway Rugby Community Development Officers Janice Chappell and Alun Evans - ably assisted by players Snow and Llewelyn.

And Gwent's top policeman obviously liked what he saw. "The way that the children responded was fantastic", said Mr. Turner. "Even in the short time I was there you could see their skills improving and perhaps more importantly, how they grew in confidence. This confidence factor which was so obvious on the field also played a big part in the question and answer session with Rod and David when the children asked an incredible variety of questions."

He added, "The Gateway Rugby CDO's were excellent throughout, striking exactly the right balance between fun and discipline and there's no doubt that having such positive role models as the CDO's and especially the players, can only work for the good of the children."

Explaining the context for his force's involvement in Gateway Rugby, Mr. Turner said, "Gwent Police have been consulted at every stage of Gateway Rugby's development and we are delighted to be full partners in the project.

"Whilst the scheme imparts top class rugby & sports coaching to youngsters from every corner of Newport and Monmouthshire, it is clearly much more than just a rugby development programme. Gateway Rugby has a social agenda whereby the platform and relationships created by the scheme's fortnightly visits are used to get the right lifestyle messages across to the youngsters. The scheme is making a valuable contribution to the social and sporting fabric of Newport and Monmouthshire and Gwent Police is delighted to support it."