THE district's most senior police officer has denied Minehead police station is likely to close after claims a local school had "shown an interest" in using the buildings.

West Somerset police Inspector Shane Carey said he was unaware of any plans to close the station when he was quizzed by district councillors on Monday.

Cllr Richard Lillis, vice-chairman of West Somerset Council's scrutiny committee, said he had been told a Minehead school had taken a look around the station with a view to using the site.

But Mr Carey said: "I'm not aware of anything but things are always under review. I know there is a desire to retain a custody facility in Minehead and as of now I'm not aware of any plans for closure."

Minehead member Cllr Mandy Chilcott said it was vital the Minehead station was kept open and said transporting prisoners to Bridgwater was not a viable option.

"I know there is a new custody suite in Bridgwater but I would like to make a plea to keep Minehead open," she said.

"It would be very challenging for local officers to get someone all the way to Bridgwater and back again - it would take up an entire shift.

"It's imperative Minehead remains open."

Councillors made the comments after Mr Carey gave them a rundown on crime and policing statistics in the district over the last year.

He said crime continued to fall year on year, with 109 fewer crimes reported in West Somerset compared to the previous 12 months.

Although there had been a small increase in offences in Minehead - ten additional victims compared to last year - there had been a 31 per cent drop in crime in Williton and Watchet and a 1.8 per cent reduction across Exmoor.

Detection rates had gone up in Minehead and Williton but had dropped slightly in Exmoor.

Of the crimes reported in West Somerset, 1,740 were related to anti-social behaviour.

"We really are focusing on anti-social behaviour at the moment," Mr Carey said.

Anti-social behaviour accounted for 46 per cent of all crimes in Minehead, or 794 incidents, some 35 per cent or 615 incidents in Williton and Watchet, and 19 per cent or 331 incidents in Exmoor.

Councillors said they were "staggered" by the numbers and welcomed the news that overall crime was down.