UNDERSTAFFING in Hampshire's police force has led to the partial withdrawal of officers from a valued village base.

The number of constables at Netley police station has dropped by almost a third, leaving the station four short of its normal requirement.

And now, with the transfer of the village's sergeant, the remaining officers have been taken out of the village and based miles up the road at Hedge End.

Patrols covering the southern parish beat now set out from the larger station where sergeants are on hand to brief them. Ironically, the fall in numbers comes ahead of the introduction of a new manpower allocation formula for the county, which puts the desired number of officers in Netley at 19.

But the area's senior police officer was keen to allay fears over the future of policing in the area.

Inspector Paul Briggs, of Hedge End police, said: "I do not want anyone getting alarmed and thinking we are going to pack up and move out of Netley.

"We are maintaining the same amount of patrol cover, if not better." Insp Briggs added that while officers still called in at the village station, they would remain based at Hedge End as long as the staff shortage continued.

He said: "When we get a full complement of men Netley will come back to life.

"As yet there are no sergeants of the right calibre available in the force. We are understaffed in the force as a whole."

Alan Gordon, chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation which represents 3,500 officers, criticised the ongoing understaffing of the countywide force. He said: "Netley is a shining example of the problems that face the service in Hampshire and nationally."

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