THE police have lost control of crime in Bridgwater because there are not enough officers on the ground.

Those are the views of Bridgwater’s MP Iain Liddell-Grainger, who has also said he thought the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Sue Mountstevens, did not have ‘a clue’ about the situation.

Mr Liddell-Grainger’s comments come after the Mercury highlighted comments from Sgt Ryan Edwards, who said officers were struggling to tackle crime in the town amid a staffing crisis.

The MP 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 (PCC) have got to understand what is happening.

"I don’t think she (Sue Mountstevens) has a clue about what is going on.”

At the meeting, reported by the Mercury, Sgt Edwards said that due to long term sickness he only had four officers in Bridgwater.

And Mr Liddell-Grainger said he had seen the problem getting worse for 15 years, though he denied it was due to cuts from the Conservative Government.

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 authority 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.”

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.

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.”

However, Inspector Andy Pritchard, neighbourhood manager for Sedgemoor, said the force was committed to the area.

“We are absolutely committed to delivering the best quality service possible to our communities across Somerset,” he said.

“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.

“While 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.”

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