POLICE in Ludlow have been slammed after two officers visited St Laurence Church in Ludlow to investigate the noise of bells ringing to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday.

Tim Gill, who is a member of Ludlow Town Council, claims that the officers did not know about the birthday and wasted time investigating the noise instead of real crime.

He has also hit out at the level of policing in the town, saying that people no longer bother to report incidents as they see little or no point.

“Across the country, the bells were ringing but in Ludlow Police Community Support Officers call,” said Tim Gill, who represents the town centre.

“I had to check it was the Queen's Official Birthday on Saturday and not April Fools' Day when I was told that two Community Support Officers had actually talked to a church warden, investigating a complaint about the noise being made by the peal being rung to celebrate her Majesty's birthday.

“The fact that they were unaware what special day it was and wasted time investigating this but could not do anything about the tyre-slashing incident in Broad Street a week earlier illustrates the mess that policing is in in Ludlow.

“If Community Support Officers, dressed in a uniform walking round town, are supposed to instil confidence they certainly fail when they do daft things like they did last Saturday.

Tim Gill, who stressed that he is not speaking on behalf of the town council, said people do not understand the role of Community Support Officers.

“They are no substitute for proper policing and this is sorely lacking in Ludlow and rural areas in general,” he added.

“Following years of insufficient funding to enable the police do the job the public expect, there are just not enough police to cover this part of South Shropshire and deal with incidents during the week let alone at weekends.”

Tim Gill said that he had sympathy for the police who, he believes, are not properly resourced to do the job.

But he says that they have lost the confidence of the people of the town who do not see the point in reporting crime saying that this is illustrated by a comment from Inspector Robert Thomas that there had only been one report of tyre slashing.

“It illustrates the loss of confidence people have in reporting incidents as they feel it is a waste of their time to do so unless they need a police number for an insurance claim.”

But he is urging people to make sure that they report all crime because if they do not it will be taken that there is not a problem and even fewer resources will be provided to police Ludlow.

“People have to be confident that if they do report an incident there is a response but they are not confident and this really concerns me,” Tim Gill added.

He called for a greater police presence to provide reassurance especially to older people.

Inspector Robert Thomas said: "Two PCSOs were in Ludlow carrying out house-to-house enquiries as part of a burglary investigation and offering crime reduction advice to local residents. While there, two residents raised concerns about the church bells and as the church was nearby the PCSOs went there to enquire on their behalf. They were told that the bells were being rung to mark the Queen’s birthday and went back to the residents to explain this.

"The PCSOs did not make any complaint about the bells or ask for them to be stopped, it was an enquiry on behalf of the residents. To clarify, this was not an investigation.

"Since the end of last year, there have been 12 additional officers working in Ludlow.

"Ludlow is a very safe place to live with low levels of crime. We always look to get feedback from local people on the service we are providing and if there is a reluctance to report crime then this is something we would like to address urgently. We will be looking to speak with the councillor to discuss his concerns."