A NEW Weymouth police officer's efforts to catch burglars undercover has led to him being nominated for a national award.

PC Peter Okopski is going head-to-head with 30 other nominees to compete for the Probationer of the Year at the 14th annual Jane's Police Review Gala Awards.

The awards, run by the UK's biggest-selling policing magazine, are the premier event for honouring excellence in community policing and are judged by a panel of leading policing figures.

Home Office minister Hazel Blears and BBC Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross will present the awards at a ceremony in London next Thursday.

PC Okopski enjoyed a life on the ocean wave in the Royal Navy for more than 20 years before deciding to join the force.

He signed up at the age of 44 and was determined to succeed in his new career, giving 100 per cent.

On the beat at West Weymouth he responded to a spate of burglaries on his patch by swapping his uniform for plainclothes and going on patrol at night where he thought the burglars would strike next.

He and his team arrested one of the offenders coming out of a window and later caught three others. The gang are thought to be responsible for more than 20 burglaries.

Dorset Police Chief Constable Martin Baker said: "PC Okopski has displayed excellent personal skills and abilities from the outset.

"His ability to make quality decisions in quick time has underpinned his success and contributed to the extremely high regard in which he is held by the community."

The Probationer of the Year Award was introduced in 2002 to recognise outstanding personal skills shown by probationers throughout Eng-land, Wales and Northern Ireland.

If he wins PC Okopski will receive a £1,000 bursary to fund a trip abroad to study training in a European force.

Another Dorset officer nominated is PC Andrew Robertson of Poole, who is in the running for the Community Police Officer of the Year Award for his work with residents in a community that was the scene of an armed siege.