I NOTE that on February 16 there will be a meeting of Bromyard and Winslow Town Council at which policing levels will be discussed with the deputy police and crime commissioner.

I also note that coverage of the Bromyard area, which appears to involve no fewer than 13 town and parish council areas, has been reduced to one constable and one police community support officer (PCSO).

In the 60s, 70s and 80s I was a police officer in a market town in Surrey and my station had responsibility for a population of 38,000. There would always be four uniformed patrol personnel, two manned police vehicles, and at least one supervisory sergeant.

The population of the Bromyard area is much smaller, and I would not suggest for a moment that we need that kind of full-time strength constantly available.

The point I would like to make, however, is that policing can often be uneventful, albeit smooth running. But then something goes wrong, and when it does, back-up is needed in a hurry.

If a PC only has an unwarranted PCSO behind him as he waits for reinforcements from Hereford, Leominster or Ledbury, he could be in serious trouble.

I once attended a straightforward domestic dispute, or so I thought. On arrival I found the ground floor of the house trashed, the female family members were barricaded in a bedroom, and the father – a heavyweight boxer – immediately knocked off my helmet.

I turned to the special constable behind me and said ‘Get help!’ (I never saw him again so it was with some relief that the road was rapidly illuminated by the blue lights of six police vehicles, which had been no more than a few miles away).

I can quote more incidents where I was in danger of serious bodily harm and it was only through the hasty arrival of my colleagues that I survived unharmed.

When considering police manpower we should never think that if everything’s going fine then everyone’s happy and everyone’s safe.

When things go wrong, you need more ‘bodies’ in reserve that you can call on at a moment’s notice.

We all know the kind of incidents that police officers have to respond to at short notice. Could Bromyard’s councillors deal with them? Let us support our thin blue line.

The question for the deputy PCC should be how to increase the police strength rather than to simply maintain the status quo.

MARTIN FIELD Burley Gate