'POLICE! Camera! Action!' was the call in Swindon on Friday (MAY 4), but Alastair Stewart and his assortment of dodgy drivers were nowhere to be seen.

Swindon College provided the setting as media students set the cameras rolling with Wiltshire Police officers as part of a new series of educational videos.

It wasn’t exactly the hard-hitting, traffic crimes the ITV programme was showing until 2010, but the 16- to 19-year-old students intend to create a product just as professional.

Led by course leader Paul Moss, the student cohort had been tasked with filming a series of scenarios designed to educate secondary school pupils about the dangers of firearms and knife crime.

Firearm and Knife Education (FAKE) is the scheme rolled by the county’s coppers to discourage such crimes in teens as they approach adulthood.

After a successful project creating similar videos with Wiltshire College, Trowbridge, in 2010, Kevin Harmsworth and his team were in North Star Avenue to refresh their video material.

“These are training videos to help and assist those Kevin goes and sees with these education courses,” said Mr Moss, who leads the college’s creative media production courses.

“They also show how police deal with that in a sensible way rather than how is highlighted in Hollywood.

“It’s about raising awareness and bridging the divide. Some young people are very against the police, but they’re friendly, happy people.”

Sgt Harmsworth said: “We want to promote a responsible attitude among young people and make it clear they shouldn’t carry weapons.

“Wiltshire is a very safe county already, but this is a proactive way of discouraging any such behaviour whilst they are still young. It has led to very good results in the past.”

He continued: “There is much greater awareness of a weapon-carrying culture which normally stems from larger towns and cities because of the gang culture.

“We don’t see much in Wiltshire, however we don’t want that to start.

“There are isolated incidents once in a while partly down to this work and our neighbourhood policing teams who are doing what they can.”

The students, armed with cameras, microphones and clapperboard, also benefited from the opportunity to work with a live client and deliver a professional service they hope to follow up in later life.

Sgt Harmsworth said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for ourselves and Swindon College. We are able to make the most of their students whilst preventing violent crime in our county.”

“They provide the creative input and we base it around how we would respond in that scenario.”