BUCKFASTLEIGH Town Council is to write to the Chief Constable after seeing its crime double in the last month, writes Lindsey Sill.

The overall figures are still low. From May 12 to June 8 there were 38 incidents in the Buckfastleigh area.

A total of 126 crimes were reported in the Chudleigh/Ashburton section, of which 14 were in Buckfastleigh and Buckfast.

They included lead roofing and aluminium sections being stripped from the roof of the Methodist Church, criminal damage to and theft from cars, one burglary and a man arrested and charged with cannabis production after a police raid on an address in Buckfast.

Presenting her monthly police report, neighbourhood beat manager Alison Hooper told Buckfastleigh Town Council: 'I suspect that it is something to do with the changes and the fact that I never seem to be in Buckfastleigh.'

She admitted that new shift patterns introduced as part of Devon and Cornwall Police's cost cutting measures meant she could not spend as much time in the town.

'We are being drawn into Newton Abbot on Friday and Saturday nights, which is unfortunate for places like Buckfastleigh and Ashburton. We're just not around.

'I'm not really getting the job done as well as I would like,' she said on Wednesday.

Cllr Michael Tolchard said: 'Crime has doubled in a month. It concerns me. I am worried because you're not there. We are going to get back to where we were two to three years ago.'

Members agreed to write of their concerns to the Devon and Cornwall's chief constable, Stephen Otter.