A fast-food manager who is also a volunteer police officer was rewarded for her community work by the Mayor of Harrow.

Mum-of-two Jackie Padilla got a surprise visit to the Harrow McDonald's restaurant she runs from a man in a red robe trimmed with fur.

But it turned out to be the Mayor of Harrow dressed in his regalia to give her a special community award.

Jackie balances her full-time job managing the town’s McDonald’s while volunteering 30 hours a month as a part-time police officer on her days off.

It was enough for Cllr Ramji Chauhan to recognise her “going beyond the call of duty” and to present her with a framed certificate.

“Jackie’s commitment to keeping Harrow safe is a credit to her,” the mayor said. “This award shows our appreciation for her outstanding contribution.”

The surprise was “an arresting moment” for Special Pc Jackie when the mayor walked into the takeaway in Station Road — and an unexpected Christmas present from the man in red.

She first joined McDonald’s in 1987 from school at the age of 16 and was so keen that she was promoted to ‘party host’ on her third day into the job, then rose to be shift manager at just 17.

Jackie had been unable to finish her exams at school, so the company helped her with her studies to get maths and English qualifications.

Then she decided to qualify to join the police in 2011 on her time off, when there was trouble brewing in the community with the London street riots that year, and started work patrolling London’s buses and the Underground.

Jackie’s police duties are unpaid voluntary work, on top of working full-time running the restaurant and raising two young children.

McDonald’s Harrow franchise owner Reema Mavani chipped in: “Jackie goes above and beyond in everything she does and deserves to be recognised for her contribution to the community.”

Her police duties have included tackling the 2011 riots and working at the 2012 Olympics in east London, as well as helping during the Covid pandemic, assisting at the late Queen’s platinum jubilee and at her funeral, and being on duty for the King’s coronation in May.

But it doesn’t stop there. The busy 54-year-old is now training to be a mental health aid coach — to help others cope with life.