Officers from Leicestershire Police have returned to their day jobs – and cooling down – after spending time working in Cornwall at the G7 summit.

Leicestershire officers were among 5,000 who travelled from all over the United Kingdom to support policing at the gathering of world leaders.

"I really enjoyed it, I might put in for a transfer!" said Sergeant Ian Weston. "It was a great experience and I'll be putting my name down to help with future events."

The event was blessed with glorious weather but it was far from a holiday for officers.

Sergeant Weston led one of many teams patrolling some of the 16 miles of cordons that were set up.

Their team oversaw part of the outer cordon around the Carbis Bay Hotel – where some of the delegates, including Boris Johnson, were staying.

"It was a difficult area to police because of the number of footpaths and steep trails around the site.

"We were the first public-facing team on the cordon but thankfully all the walkers, holidaymakers and residents in the area were very supportive and made it a lot easier than it might have been.

"A section of the cordon backed onto some houses and we made some wonderful friends. One couple in particular, Barry and Susan, came out three times a day bringing us tea and chocolate bars. On the long days they were a great help and even allowed us to use their toilet. We can't thank them enough."

Sergeant Weston and other officers worked sometimes 14 or 15 hours a day but created a team challenge for their breaks.

"We were near a very steep hill so to keep morale up, during our breaks, we'd have a time-trial race up the hill. Colleagues from firearms and the Army got involved and it was good fun. The Army guys proved the quickest."

PC Rebecca Capewell, who attended with her police dog Spike, also enjoyed the upbeat atmosphere in the area and the warm interaction with the public.

"It was an amazing experience," she said. "Both the public and officers we engaged with were so happy and it was a wonderful time.

"Spike and I were on a night shift so we were bolstering some of the security points at different venues. It was so great having him with me. Our relationship is huge. Like having a human crewmate, you have to have ultimate trust in one another and know what each other are thinking and we are so in tune."

Spike was one of 150 police dogs deployed at the event, with 30 operational sites, 100 accommodation venues and 16,000 meals a day.

Devon and Cornwall Police ensured local residents could get involved.

"They came up with Police Bingo for the kids," said Sergeant Weston. "Kids would come around and ask which force you were from and tick them off their list. It was great to have that interaction with the kids and their parents enjoyed it too.

"It was so good-natured, we had no issues at all and we were even given a free ice-cream at the end of the week – but it was so hot the ice-cream was melting before you could eat it."