WILTSHIRE police are leading the way in new technology designed to keep bobbies on the beat and not buried under mountains of paperwork in the office.

A recent Home Office report, entitled Open All Hours, looked at the way police visibility and accessibility can help reassure the public.

In that report, Wiltshire Constabulary featured widely and its successes in community liaison warmly applauded.

Among its achievements noted in the report were the Bobby Van, a scheme run by a charitable trust whereby a serving policeman calls at the homes of elderly and vulnerable people who have suffered a crime and, at no cost to them, installs extra security devices and gives them simple crime prevention advice.

It praises the force's partnership working, such as Operation Cirrus, a drugs bust where representatives of the social services, youth workers and the drugs and alcohol working group were brought in to assist.

And it mentioned a new initiative being pursued by the Wiltshire force in which a new computer system will be used to cut down on paperwork.