CSO was police decoy

LETTER: I was driving through Morda, near Oswestry, one day last week, and noticed a community support officer (CSO) standing in the open by the side of the road as I approached. My attention was drawn to him because I thought it a bit strange.

He was just standing there looking up the road at the approaching traffic.

Then as I got closer to him I caught movement on the other side of the road out of the corner of my eye.

As I passed, I saw a police officer just putting down a speed gun that he had been pointing at me from his position of concealment behind a wall and shrubbery.

I realised what the CSO was doing. He was being paid £25,000 a year of mine and your money to do nothing more than to stand by the side of the road to act as a blatant decoy to attract my attention so I would not notice the policeman with the speed gun.

Apart from being underhand, is it not a waste of his time? Should he not be out in the community, on the housing estates, in the town centre, or anywhere where he can be of use to the community – not by the side of the road helping to take more money out of our pockets?

This is not a good way to try and get the public to take these jokers seriously. CSOs are supposed to be there to help the general public, not the police. Is it any wonder that all respect is being lost?

Just another of this corrupt government's empty promises. What has it to do with putting more police on the beat? (I was not speeding by the way.)

Alwyn Cox

Oswestry