MEET PC Julia Veal - she is the new face on the Bishopstoke beat.

She has got a hard act to follow. For she is stepping into the shoes of Pc Dave Leishman who was the community's lawman for nearly 20 years.

She said: "It is quite daunting to take over from Dave who was so dedicated, keen and enthusiastic."

To ease her into the Bish-opstoke patch Julia has worked alongside Dave for the last six months.

And 34-year-old Julia, who has previously been stationed at Hedge End and Bitterne, is already enjoying getting in-volved in the community.

Speaking to the Daily Echo in the picturesque Riverside area, Julia said: "This is a lovely place to work, especially during the summer, and people around here are great."

One of her top priorities will be to improve the quality of life for residents troubled by youngsters responsible for anti-social behaviour.

She said: "There is a juvenile nuisance problem and I will be working with Eastleigh council and youth workers to find ways of dealing with this."

Using the multi-agency approach, they hope to come up with an education programme to tackle the problem.