THEY help old ladies across the road, reunite lost children with their mums and point tourists in the right direction — but do they get any thanks?

Now police in Bolton have embarked on a new initiative to highlight their good community work to boost their image.

The scheme will also show the more serious side to their positive community work, such as looking after repeat victims of crime.

Focus on Quality aims to show shining examples of when officers have gone an extra mile to help people in their area.

It will move away from crime statistics and will instead highlight results that have made a real difference to the community, such as officers going into schools to talk to youngsters about crime.

Insp Chris Makin, who is leading the programme, said: “These are the sort of things that officers do regularly and can go unnoticed.

“But we want to show people in the community what we are doing to build trust and confidence between us and our customers.

“In the past, we have concentrated on quantative targets and, to some extent, neglected the quality of the work that our people do."

Bolton is one of four areas in Greater Manchester which is taking part in the six-month pilot project.

The system involves officers and staff sending a short email to their supervisor at the end of each month detailing up to six jobs.

It will then be used to feedback to people in the community at meetings such as area forums.

If it is a success, the scheme could be rolled out across Greater Manchester next year.

It has been developed as part of the Putting People First programme.