KNOWLEDGABLE rugby supporters were rewarded for taking part in Operation Hawk, a streetwise police initiative, backed by Leigh Centurions.

Throughout the 2000-20001 season, the Centurions teamed up with Leigh police to produce 24 rugby cards, featuring individual members of the Hilton Park outfit's first-team squad.

Two hundred thousand cards were used in Operation Hawk, which was aimed at reducing the number of street robbery incidents involving young people.

Each card contained a safety message and competition question and 200,000 cards were distributed in schools, on match days and by police and Centurions staff.

Lucky winners were Rebecca Armstrong, 15, of Lowton, who received a replica kit and Terry Casey, of Westhoughton, who received a season ticket for 2001-2, courtesy of Leigh Centurions.

Rebecca is pictured trying out her new kit and packing down with enforcers Dave Bradbury, Leigh's star packman, and PC Steve Gaskell.

Head of Leigh police, Supt Mary Boylan, said: "I am grateful for the support of everybody at Leigh Centurions for backing this initiative. Like ourselves, they saw these cards as an excellent way of passing on important safety messages to members of our community, especially young people. They have been a tremendous success and certainly spread the word of Operation Hawk far and wide."