A councillor is calling on the public to show greater respect for the police after joining officers in a ride along.

Conservative councillor for Hale End and Highams Park, joined a team of Waltham Forest officers on Friday as they responded to incidents involving a suspected hit-and-run, burglary, a drug overdose and false alarm.

During the five-hour shift from 4pm to 9pm, Ms Rackham said her perception of policing in the borough has changed.

She said:"This was an eye opener for me and I really got to see just how hard our police work to keep us safe.

"It was full on from the moment that we got in the car and raced off at around 90mph, with me feeling like I was going to be sick for at least two hours.

"I saw first hand what the police have to deal with, and with no breaks to rest for anytime at all and both their physical and mental capacity pushed to the limit many times during my short time with them, my respect and appreciation of our police has increased 100 per cent.

"I was one of those people who when I saw an officer queuing up in McDonalds, would be the first to say why aren’t they policing the area, but now I know very differently.

"It is time for us to realise just what the police have to do to keep us safe and secure and how hard it is to police our streets, when much of their time is spent where they have to be, but shouldn’t necessarily be.

She admitted her former stereotype of a lazy force was "completely the wrong one", adding: "Next time you see an officer out and about, please don’t look at them with such contempt, as most of us really don’t have any idea what they have to do to keep us safe."