Focus on rural policing at Ancaster panel meeting

Questions covered local policing issues from speeding and parking to rural crime.

The panel comprised of newly elected Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, his deputy Stuart Tweedale, Police Inspector Gary Stewart for Grantham Rural North and South, and local PCSO Barbara Mooney.

The meeting was chaired by Ancaster Parish Council chairman David Sayer, who said after the meeting: “One of the main things that came out of this meeting was the positivity towards Community Speed Watch. I think sometimes people forget, when they have issues, that we are all in this together and public events like this are invaluable to provide reassurance that the police are working so hard with the finite resources they have.”

In relation to Mr Jones, Mr Sayer said: “What came over to me was the PCC’s willingness to engage and really try to make a difference balanced by the frustration with unfair funding and some inherited issues.”

The meeting lasted two hours with a continuous flow of questions submitted prior to the event and questions from the floor. The meeting saw over 40 attendees, including several members of the public, parish representatives from Ancaster, Long Bennington, Cranwell, Wilsford, Silk Willoughby, Leadenham, Londonthorpe, Fulbeck, Barkston, Swaton, Caythorpe, Ruskington and Great Gonerby, and local district and county councillors.

Ancaster Parish Councillor and local campaigner Alexander Maughan said: “Due to the nature of an area like ours, we do not see much police visibility due to the lower rates of crime. Therefore, meetings like this are important in reassuring local parish councils and parishioners that the police are doing their job and striving to keep us safe.”