AS a young boy growing up in the Swinging Sixties, Paul Watson respected policemen and decided it was what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Now PC Watson, neighbourhood officer for Shoebury, is retiring after 30 years of dedicating himself to making a difference to the community.

He said: "As a child, I looked up to policemen. I wanted to help people and rid the streets of a few bad guys. Luckily in my career there have been numerous occasions to help people."

Mr Watson, 58, started out as a beat bobby in Ongar, in 1978, where he quickly realised if he was to learn anything about policing he needed to move from the village to a town.

A year later he was in Basildon, where in his first week he had to deal with a terrorist incident on Canvey and a pile-up on the Pitsea flyover.

He said: "I was in at the deep end. I felt if I could survive there, I could survive anywhere."

He stayed in Basildon for seven years before spending four years patrolling Canvey, then moving over to deal with people applying for firearms licences.

After seven years and an 18-month stint at the headquarters control room in Chelmsford, Mr Watson ended up in Shoebury in 1999 and was made a neighbourhood specialist officer in 2003.

He says the past five years have been the best of his career, especially when it comes to making an impression on youngsters.

He said: "If that is the first time they have ever met a police officer, they will grow up with that impression in their minds and it will stay with them for life.

"We need to keep reminding children that if they are in trouble, need help or are lost, they can come to the police.

"Yes, we want them to be well-behaved, but we don't want them to fear us, we want them to know they can turn to us for help."

Mr Watson also passes on crime prevention advice.

He said: "I've spent years learning what criminals do so I've enjoyed being able to pass that on to the community and give it back."

Mr Watson has no doubt about what the highlight of his career has been.

He launched a campaign last summer, where 2,000 children in Shoebury were handed mouse mats with important safety advice on them, next to a picture of Mr Watson and the words, "PC Paul Watson says....."

"I have had a chance to leave a mark", he said. "I know children are going to look at that mouse mat for years to come and it will leave them with a positive impression of the police."

After 30 years, Mr Watson is looking forward to retirement, when he hopes to work for an agency helping the police by taking statements.

He says things have changed dramatically in the force since he first started, with the main change being computers.

He said: "When I was a young bobby we used to have a morning meeting which lasted 30 minutes to be told what was going on, then we were out on the road.

"Now that side of things takes up so much more time because of the amount of computer-related stuff we have to get through and the mountain of paperwork."

But he will always look back on his time in the force with pride.

He said: "I've learnt a lot about myself. You have to deal with a lot of stuff and you find the limits to your ability, which in turn, makes you a stronger person.

"You are also faced with people in terrible situations, which makes you appreciate what you've got."