A Dover Police Liaison Officer has been praised in the country’s top criminal justice awards for taking care of victims of homophobic hate crimes.

Mick Cronin was highly commended for the work he has done in setting up a dedicated hotline so victims of the gay, lesbian and transgender community can report crimes.

He was awarded at the National Justice Awards prize giving in London after being judged by a panel including the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General.

The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, said: “The quality of the work of all the finalists was tremendous. The Justice Awards exemplifies the dedication of staff and volunteers across the Criminal Justice System to making communities better.”

Mick set the scheme up in 2003 and it was so successful, it expanded to Kent and Medway in 2004.

He has managed to arrange funding to sustain the line from Community Safety Units across Kent and Medway, and he continues to organise staff training.

In May, the Chief Constable of Kent Michael Fuller commended Mick’s work in helping victims of hate crime.