WEST Somerset could see the recruitment of home grown police officers in a bid to tackle rural crime in villages, it was announced this week.

Police chiefs hope the ground-breaking scheme will restore law and order in villages which may be deprived of their own local bobby.

The 'parish wardens' would be paid up to £16,000 a year and would liaise with local agencies and councils to fight crime in the countryside.

They would also be in a uniform distinct from that of the police, provided with radio links to police back-up and drive around their parishes in a marked vehicle.

Each warden would be trained and vetted by police and have direct access to the local beat officer and special constables.

They would be assigned to support a specific area to provide a visible and easily approachable presence on the local scene.

The idea has been taken from the success of the neighbourhood warden schemes which have been established in other parts of the UK to raise the quality of life in deprived and disadvantaged urban areas.

The Government has earmarked £13.5 million over three years to support the existing warden initiatives but Avon and Somerset police have been campaigning for more to be pumped into rural areas.

They say rural areas are isolated, have poor transport, high property prices, unemployment and crime and are forced to face the closure of banks, shops and other facilities.

As a first step in the new initiative, the force approached a number of parishes in West Somerset and South Gloucestershire to see if they would be interested in taking part in the pioneering venture.

John Lees, chairman of both West Somerset Crime Prevention Panel and Bicknoller Parish Council, said he was all in favour of the introduction of parish wardens.

"Being chairman of the council and the crime panel as well as a villager, it would seem to me a good way to stop crime in rural areas.

"Around 80 per cent of crime is committed by opportunists and if people were a bit more careful it could be prevented, as in our village which has a reasonable Neighbourhood Watch.

"At the last parish meeting, the idea of underwriting the extra hours of police officers was brought up but councillors were not in favour of buying police time.

"The outcome of the debate was that they felt they paid their rates as parishioners to entitle them to their services.

"We have a community beat officer in Bicknoller and it is one of my crusades to raise their profiles in villages across West Somerset."

Avon and Somerset police spokesman Penny Hallett said parish councils already had the responsibility to contribute towards community safety and were also able to precept funds.

"The wardens would be able to liaise and work with parish councils, local beat managers, Neighbourhood Watch, school heads and local action teams to address particular community concerns.

"These could include visiting specified areas at certain times, keeping an eye on property and visiting vulnerable people and assisting rural community schemes."

The police will now wait for the reaction from parishes before they set the wheels in motion for their application from the Government.

Watchet town councillor and active member of the West Somerset Police Community Consultative Group, David Westcott said: "Anything that helps the police force is a marvellous idea.

"In rural communities at the moment we are so starved of attention and the number of hours the police can work.

"If this helps to control the few number of criminals, then I would be all for it because it is a form of police officing rural areas which is much needed."

Avon and Somerset's Deputy Chief Constable Ken Jones said the existing neighbourhood warden schemes had been shown to improve the residents' sense of well-being and confidence.

He said it had also seen a rise in the reduction rates in recorded offences and fear of crime.

"We would like to see more money being spent on improving the quality of life for residents in rural areas, but we need to find parishes willing to work with us on the pilot scheme before we can make a bid," said Mr Jones.

"We see parish wardens as complimentary to and not as substitutes for police, local authorities and other statutory services."

He said the wardens could provide a source of valuable information and deal with some of the more minor incidents of anti-social behaviour, so freeing up police time to deal with other matters.

"The wardens would not be given any special powers to fulfil their functions. Their effectiveness comes from working with and adding value to the work of the local agencies and voluntary groups."

l See Kwinty's Comment on Page 4