DEVIZES could lose its police community support officers unless money is found to replace the Government cash used to recruit them.

The town council said on Tuesday night it had no money in its budgets for next year to help fund the cost of employing Fiona Marno and Paula Yarranton, who have been patrolling the streets of Devizes since April 2003.

Inspector Pete Bowerbank, the senior officer at Devizes police station, said the withdrawal of the community support officers would be a great loss to the town.

He said: "They have been particularly effective in dealing with low-level anti-social behaviour, particularly in the Eastleigh Road area.

"They have been able to build up links between residents and police officers which officers on their own wouldn't have time to do. There have been numerous instances when they have been able to reassure members of the public, particularly the older members of the community."

The council had received a letter from Chief Superintendent Jerry Wickham, commander of A division which covers Salisbury and Kennet, asking the town council for their help in continued funding for the posts.

He said Wiltshire Constabulary has been able to fund 15 support officers initially with funding from the Home Office. In December they got money to employ another 12 across the county.

A spokesman for Mr Wickham said yesterday: "We don't know for how much longer the Government will be able to fund the scheme. We are following the lead of a Government White Paper which says the way ahead is for local authorities to embrace community policing together."

The officers have no powers of arrest but provide a police presence in the streets and have been able to defuse public disorder situations.

There is no guarantee Government funding will continue to be available for the scheme. Mr Wickham is approaching all councils to ask if they were interested in funding the community support officers from their own resources.

But town councillors decided to pass on the offer. Coun Charles Winchcombe said: "We would be creating a dangerous precedent. Once you start funding something like this you have to keep on doing it year after year."

The council's refusal to fund the scheme angered Coun Ray Parsons who had asked for £5,000 to be put into the town council budget under the heading of community safety.

He said: "I didn't expect the chickens to come home to roost so quickly but this is exactly the kind of thing I felt we needed to prepare for."

But Devizes Mayor Coun Margaret Taylor said: "The town council should not be expected to think ahead on these matters. We may well have to put something into the estimates for next year, but we can't go second guessing what others might want us to do.

"Mr Wickham's letter did not even say what percentage of the posts he was expecting us to finance."

Roger Chadwick, chairman of the Devizes Community Area Safety Committee, said that the loss of community support officers would be the start of a slippery slope in the struggle against anti-social behaviour in the town.

He said: "The police community support officers are extremely useful in providing a visible police presence in the town.

"They are the friendly face of policing and addressing local issues. It would be disappointing if they were no longer around."