RESIDENTS in Bridgwater will be able to see life behind bars in the town’s new police centre for themselves during an open day.

Three new custody centres have been created by Avon and Somerset Police, providing 132 cells for detainees across the force area. 

And on Wednesday, September 3, the doors will be open to local people to have a look round ahead of the opening later in the month.

Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said: “This is a unique opportunity to open the doors to our new state-of-the-art police centres for local residents to see.

“Once these buildings are operational it will be impossible to go behind the scenes like this so I would encourage all those who are interested in policing to book a tour.

“We are very pleased with the new police centre and the significant difference it will make for the constabulary’s staff and processes.

“I hope that local people use these visits to see first-hand the difference these new police centres will make for modern-day policing.”

Assistant Chief Constable Kay Wozniak said: “Our new police centres will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week so once they are fully open next month it will be impossible to allow the general public to tour the facilities. 

“This short gap between us taking on the buildings and them being fully functional means we have a rare opportunity to let people have a look around behind the scenes and see, in particular, how we take care of detained people.”

The tours will be ticketed and limited to 200 visitors. Each tour will last a maximum of one hour.

Tickets will be available on the dedicated websites from 8.30am tomorrow (Wednesday) and will be released on a first-come first-served basis. Book tickets at bridgwaterpoliceevent.eventbrite.co.uk