PEOPLE living in the picturesque town of Cricklade claim the police are failing to tackle a rising tide of rural crime.

Officers insist the town is one of the safest in North Wiltshire, yet figures show common and actual bodily harm assaults have almost trebled from 13 in the period from January to September 1999, to 38 in the same period this year.

House burglaries also increased from 15 between January and September 1999, to 23 this year.

Yet the town's police station is open for just two hours a day and the rest of the time officers have to drive in from neighbouring towns if trouble breaks out.

Mark Whittam, landlord of the Red Lion in the High Street (pictured), is one of many residents in the town of 4,000 who believe they have been overlooked by police.

He has had to chase young vandals three times in the past eight weeks because a police officer could not be found.

He feels tackling gangs of teenagers trying to throw barriers into the River Thames is a job for a bobby on the beat, not a publican.

Today, a new police inspector takes over responsibility for Cricklade and has promised four constables and a new sergeant for the town, backed by officers from Wootton Bassett.

Inspector Jon Tapper says the biggest issue in Cricklade is the fear of crime, rather than crime itself. And he has called on people to be more active themselves in the fight against crime.

His approach has angered locals, many of whom have given up reporting minor crimes because they feel they are not dealt with quickly enough.

The town council believes the crime rate in Cricklade is actually higher than the police suggest and has launched a campaign to encourage residents to report more incidents.