Market Drayton police hope post office surgeries will stamp out crime

Officers have said the new surgeries at Market Drayton Post Office will lead to an increased police presence in the town, which they believe will reassure the public.

It is the latest move by West Mercia Police to keep officers available to the public despite budget constraints that have seen stations closed and opening hours cut.

Market Drayton Police Station is still operational but no longer has a front counter service.

Instead, members of West Mercia Police's Market Drayton safer neighbourhood team will be available to talk to residents at least once a week at the post office to discuss issues such as crime prevention and safety awareness, as well as learning about crimes or problems in the area. They already hold weekly surgeries on Wednesdays at the town's Festival Drayton Centre.

The move comes after a proposal was put forward to allow police officers in Newport to be based at the town's fire station in Salters Lane.

And other towns are likely to follow suit, making officers available for surgeries in buildings that the public regularly use.

The closure of seven police stations in Shropshire in recent years has saved West Mercia Police nearly £1 million, it was revealed last year.

Constable Mick Sturland, of the safer neighbourhood team for Market Drayton, said: "We have approached the post office in Market Drayton to see if we can work with it to promote safety awareness and crime prevention by holding regular surgeries inside their premises.

"Our aim is to carry out at least one surgery a week and the post office will be another premises we can utilise. It's a new venture after an approach from the post office central HQ.

"Our presence will be advertised on Twitter and a board will be erected outside when we're there.

"We will probably only do one-hour slots and this location will be in addition to the Festival Drayton Centre, where we already do a drop-in surgery every Wednesday."

Last year Market Drayton Post Office was the centre of a car parking dispute.

The car park adjoining the post office had been at the centre of debate for months after changing to a system which forces motorists to pay over the phone for parking.

The car park, which is managed by Creative Car Parking Solutions, uses a system where drivers must pay using a debit or credit card over the phone. Charges begin at 40p for one hour. Town councillors have also raised concerns, with many residents not able to pay the initial fee because of poor mobile phone signal or not having a mobile at all.