VILLAGE councillors are furious after learning their police support officer may have to patrol his rural beat using public transport.

Members of Hurworth Parish Council, near Darlington, will write to Durham Police after they learnt their local community support officer no longer has guaranteed access to a police vehicle.

However, police have given assurances that the villages will still receive the same level of support.

John Angus covers the rural villages around Darlington, including Hurworth and Middleton St George.

However, his former police vehicle is too old and the force can not afford to replace it.

At the meeting of Hurworth Parish Council on Monday, members questioned how he was expected to do his job properly if he has to rely on public transport.

Councillor Alan Gibson suggested that a letter should be written to Chief Constable Jon Stoddart.

He said: “When I first came here, there were two police officers living in the village. Now they are saying, ‘why not send someone on the bus?’ “It is absolutely ludicrous we have a rural beat and the man that is doing the job is supposed to be using public transport.

“It is not adequate policing.”

However, Councillor Doris Jones, who represents Middleton St George on Darlington Borough Council and is also chairwoman of the public protection scrutiny committee, felt that the situation was not as bad as it sounded, although she did have some concerns.

She said police and community support offcers (PCSOs) did not normally have their own dedicated vehicles, and added: “It might be a good thing if he was getting on the bus as it would give him a chance to talk to people.

“However, we do not have a good bus service which covers the whole area. John is a good PCSO and the kids know him. My concern is we only have one police officer and two PCSOs for an area with a population of 11,500 people.”

While it is understood that there may be times when PCSO Angus may have to use public transport, police say they have made provision to take him to and from his patch using a force bus.

Sergeant Louise Guest, from Darlingon police, said: “John Angus used a car that was at Teesside airport and was used as a deterrent. However, it reached the end of its working life.

“At the moment, with the financial situation, we have not been able to replace it, although that does not mean it won’t be replaced.

When he has been at work, he has been able to use a crew bus to get around.”

She said that if an incident occurred and PCSO Angus would be unable to get to it, a regular police officer would attend.

She said: “People will still be getting the quality of policing, but without the one-to-one service they had with John Angus.”