Beat bobby receives prestigious honour for community work

A top cop has received a prestigious honour for over 20 years of community work in Coventry.



Cornell Barnes MBE, known to his friends and colleagues as Barney, received the Good Citizen award from the Lord Mayor of Coventry on Monday.

The 65-year-old beat bobby has been working his patch in Hillfields since 1990.

The well-loved police officer has spent 25 years supporting members of his community and helping turn the lives around of criminals he has arrested.

Barney said: “They call me the Sheriff of Hillfields.

He added: “Neighbourhood policing isn’t a quick fix − but if you put down good terra firma it’s more likely to succeed and it’s great to have been there for that long.”

Prior to joining the police, Jamaican-born Barney was in the army.

Joining up at 15, Barney’s career saw him tour every continent but Antarctica.

In his spare time, Barney is the musical director of the West Midlands Police Band.

Originally a drummer, he has conducted hundreds of performances. He even collared a fleeing crook during one.

Barney said: “A traffic officer in his bike leathers was chasing someone who’d done a robbery.

“This lad jumped down from the shopping centre balcony and fell straight into the middle of the stage.

“He hadn’t realised what was going on before he bounded over.

“The band all dropped their instruments to help with the arrest, but I kept playing because we had a massive audience! Anyway, he was locked up and then we just carried on!”

The city council said Barney was chosen as a Good Citizen because he “has spent over 25 years working in the community, helping the citizens of Coventry and giving his time freely for the entertainment and benefit of others.”

He's looking good for 65!

Well done.

'Sheriff of Hillfields' Barney Barnes is hanging up his hat



He has struck a chord with the Coventry community for more than two decades - but PC Barney Barnes is now hanging up his hat.

The popular officer has been a regular sight on the streets of Hillfields for over 25 years - receiving an MBE for his dedication to neighbourhood policing in 2008.

Now at the age of 66 - and following a recent knee operation - the fondly known Sheriff of Hillfields has decided it is time to enjoy retirement.

However, it will not be the end of Barney’s association with the force; as he will continue as musical director of the highly regarded West Midlands Police Brass Band.

Grandfather-of-two Barney joined West Midlands Police in 1990 after 25 years touring the world with the military.

His familiar face has proved to hit the right note with the public - with reformed offenders even taking the time to come over and shake his hand.

Barney’s passion for protecting the community has been matched by his joy of music in his spare time.

He was initially a drummer before becoming a musical director - going on to conduct hundreds of shows with the WMP band and a separate military one from his army days.

One of the more memorable occasions was during a performance at a Birmingham shopping centre - which ended in the arrest of a robber.

A lad being pursued by police jumped from a balcony in the middle of the stage. As band members dropped their instruments to arrest him, Barney helped carry on the show in front of a large audience.

Barney, who will spend the extra time with family and enjoying hobbies, will be the guest of honour at a celebration to mark his time with the force this month.

Barney, who is from Coventry, said: "I have enjoyed the diversity of the role and being able to make a difference, there is nothing nicer than seeing an appreciative smile.

"I feel proud of what I have achieved and being awarded the MBE was an unbelievable moment.

“My overriding emotion is I can hold my head up high, and say I did what I could to improve lives and didn’t let people down.

“I will miss the camaraderie of the role, the people and my area of Hillfields. I have really missed it while I have been off after the operation.

"I am looking forward to retirement but I aim to carry on with the band for quite a while yet. It is really enjoyable and we do play a lot for good causes.

“Hopefully I will see former colleagues and even some faces I know from around Hillfields at future concerts. It has been a pleasure to be associated with the force and the community for all these years."

Prostitute Aurora Gronan jailed for racial assault of black Coventry cop 'Barney' Barnes MBE



A COVENTRY police officer honoured by the Queen was subjected to ‘venomous’ racial abuse as he was assaulted by a convicted prostitute he had been called to deal with.

Pc Cornell ‘Barney’ Barnes, who received an MBE in the 2008 New Year’s Honours List, ended up with a cut to his chin during the assault by foul-mouthed Aurora Gronan.

Gronan (40) of Douglas House, Hillfields, Coventry, initially denied racially-aggravated common assault on Pc Barnes, who was known as the ‘Sheriff of Hillfields.’

But on the day of her trial at Warwick Crown Court she pleaded guilty to that charge and to common assault on another man during the incident.

And after hearing that her many previous convictions included one for racially aggravated assault, she was jailed for ten months.

Prosecutor Ian Speed said on September 2015 the police were alerted to a woman banging on the door of a house in Hartlepool Road, Coventry.

When Pc Barnes arrived the occupier, a man in his late 60s, who had previously been issued with an anti-social behaviour notice and was due to be evicted, let him in.

The man told the officer that Gronan had been banging on his door, demanding to be let in, and when he did so, demanded a cigarette.

He said she had then gone upstairs where she was asleep on the bed, and he took Pc Barnes up to the bedroom.

When Pc Barnes roused Gronan, she kicked out, kicking the man, who already had an injury resulting in him wearing a neck brace, to the shoulder.

She then lashed out at Pc Barnes, causing a cut to his chin, while hurling an stream of extreme racial abuse at him, including calling him a c**n and a n***er.

Gronan was arrested and taken out to a police vehicle, still shouting vile abuse at the officer in front of other residents who retreated into their homes.

When she was interviewed she denied assaulting Pc Barnes, claiming she had been woken and dragged downstairs and ‘banged off the wall.’

Mr Speed said Gronan had 37 previous convictions for 77 offences, including robberies in 2001, 2008 and 2010, assaulting a police officer in 2004 and a racially aggravated public order offence in 2012, as well as many for prostitution and theft.

He added that Pc Barnes, who has since retired after more than 25 years, during which he was awarded the MBE for services to neighbourhood policing, said he had rarely been subjected to the sort of venomous words Gronan used towards him.

At the time of his retirement last year, Pc Barnes, who had served for 25 years in the Army before joining the West Midlands force in 1990, was said to be Britain’s oldest Pc at 66.

Jailing Gronan, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC told her: “I have read Pc Barnes’s statement. He was the subject of venomous words from you, and I have absolutely no doubt he is right when he says young children saw and heard what was said.

“These are vile offences, and they strike at the heart of our community.”