A PILLAR of the Herefordshire community has spent the past three years in and out of custody - and she's proud of it.

For Sylvia Daniels spends her time behind bars at Hereford Police Station happily chatting to detainees in her role as independent custody visitor co-ordinator.

The custody suite is cramped and its seven cells are bare and old fashioned, but Sylvia is happy if they're clean and tidy, their occupants are correctly cared for and custodians are safe.

Nonetheless, it's a sorry scene. A glimpse through a hatch in a cell door reveals a prisoner on a narrow bench with only a plastic mattress and pillow for comfort.

But Sylvia has never had a complaint. "The atmosphere in the custody suite is marvellous. There's quite a friendly feeling here and you pick that up from the detainees."

Now she is looking for more volunteers to make visits, carried out once a week. At the moment there are eight custody visitors but at least six more are needed who can spare a few hours, once a month.

One of the last recruitment drives found Sylvia. She responded to a notice in The Hereford Times and, three years on, helps train raw recruits.

"It's very interesting, very rewarding. Any visitor we have will say how rewarding it is. You're satisfied at the end of the day. You have met some nice people. You don't know why they're here, we come in cold."

Training takes place in the suite, where co-ordinators and recruits take part in role-play. Sometimes Sylvia plays a nice person, sometimes a crafty one, tricking visitors into carrying items out. A sergeant at the station handles the police side.

At the end of the training, the recruits are ready to begin visiting. For security, two volunteers make the calls - with a police officer standing just behind the door.

Prisoners are asked if they have been given their rights, if they have been able to speak to a relative or a solicitor, whether they have had a drink and a meal and if they are on medication.

A special cell, with a low-level bench and a drain in the concrete floor is available, for drunks and the sick.

The suite also has a smoker's cell, two interview rooms, a medical room and a community psychiatric nurse.

The whole operation are under the eagle eye of CCTV cameras .

Installation of the £30,000 system is a boon. The absence of cameras had put the service at a "considerable disadvantage" when it came to allegations made by prisoners.

Visitors in 2006 will find a new custody area, a suite of 16 cells.

West Mercia Police Authority's Ian Payne said applications were welcome from anyone over the age of 18 who wanted to become a visitor. At the moment there were no visitors representing minority ethnic groups and few in the 18 to 40 age bracket.

For community stalwart Sylvia, who has previously been a police matron and court usher and is now a parish councillor and president of the Herefordshire Trades Council, as well as a Herefordshire councillor, the role gives her another chance to help someone.

"It's a very rewarding job protecting the detainees and others in the custody area. I have never come across a detainee who has had a serious complaint about Hereford. That gives you faith in the system. I'm very proud of the suite."

Anyone who wants more information can phone Sylvia Daniels on 01432 263891.

Custody visitor application forms are available through the clerk to the West Mercia Police Authority, David Brierley, on 01743 341776.