The police have lost control of crime in Bridgwater because there’s not enough officers on the ground.

Those are the views of Bridgwater’s MP Iain Liddell-Grainger who said: “I am extremely worried about the levels of policing in the town. I don’t think it’s working due to structural problems and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) have got to understand what is happening. I don’t think she (Sue Mountstevens) has a clue about what is going on.”

His comments follow the Mercury’s report on Sgt Ryan Edward’s comments made at the town council last week. He said at the meeting that due to long term sickness he only had four officers in Bridgwater. He said: “That means for instance there is one officer to police Sydenham, Bower, Kingsdown, Stockmoor and Hamp. So you can appreciate is not easy.”

The officer outlined how the Force was losing the war on drugs, that moral had been rock bottom and there were not enough officers to do the job. Begging, anti-social behaviour, shoplifting and fuel crime were all highlighted by the officer.

His candid remarks were greeted by many people with relief that the truth was finally out and confirmed what many have been saying for some time. Mr Liddell-Grainger said he’d seen the problem getting worse for 15 years but this is the worst it had got.

One reader said: “Very few organisations can survive 50 percent of the workforce off on 'long term sickness'.” While another commented: “We are very rapidly seeing the direct impact of the Conservative Governments slash and burn austerity programme.” And further commented it was good ‘the chief’ was telling it like it was. However the town’s MP disagreed and said it wasn’t the cuts but how the Force was organised that had led to the problem.

He said: “This is a police force that has lost control of the situation and over promoted people and let down the people of Bridgwater. We deserve a proper police force.”

Town councillor Brian Smedley who raised a motion at the council meeting to invite the PCC to attend a meeting with the council said the council supported the police and would look to find ways to help them.

He said: “The way forward is for the town council to take up the Police Force’s case against cuts to their numbers. We will invite the PCC down and look at opportunities to tap into the EDF money for the police. We need a properly funded police force.”

At the town council meeting Cllr Smedley joked that a visit this week by police officers from the town’s twin-town in the Czech Republic would double the numbers of officers on the streets on Carnival Night.

Cllr Mick Lerry who also attended the town council meeting said there was a need for transparency and police officers who spoke out should not be disciplined for speaking the truth. He said: “Transparency is there to prevent crime and to make the streets of Bridgwater safe."

In response Inspector Andy Pritchard, Neighbourhood Manager for Sedgemoor, said: “We are absolutely committed to delivering the best quality service possible to our communities across Somerset. 
 
“We work hard to provide a comprehensive 24 hour, 365 day service and to deal with the issues that local people have told us are important to them.
 
“The Bridgwater Neighbourhood Team, which includes Inspectors, Sergeants, PCs, Response Officers and PCSOs in addition to the Beat Managers, work closely with officers from our local Specialist Operations and Investigations departments, and we are supported by other force-wide resources.
 
“Together, we are working hard to robustly tackle community concerns, such as drug dealing - which will not be tolerated in Somerset. 
 
“Sgt Edwards has recently joined the Bridgwater Team and he, or one of his team, will be attending the Bridgwater Council Meetings going forwards as part of our commitment to the local Partners and Communities Together (PACT) process. We think it’s vital that we hear directly from the local community about the issues that concern them. 
 
“Whilst we face some challenges with staff sickness, I would like to reassure the public that we are taking steps to make sure we have the right staff in the right place at the right time so we are continuing to deliver the best possible service across the area."
 

Mr Liddell-Grainger has been highly critical of the PCC’s handling of the ‘Gargan affair’ and raised concerns over the promotion of Chief Superintendent Ian Wylie after he signed a letter of no confidence in Mr Gargan from the Avon and Somerset branch of the Police Superintendents' Association.

The MP said: "The chief superintendent's letter did the damage. The man who signed that on behalf of the chiefs concerned was Chief Superintendent Ian Wylie, who suddenly then became promoted to be the commander in Somerset. Now I'm sorry, this is too much of a coincidence. This is actually worse than anything that chief constable Gargan did."

What are your views on police matters in Bridgwater? Your thoughts to harry.mottram@nqsw.co.uk