CALLINGTON town councillors are in uproar over the lack of police presence and resources in the area.

At Callington Town Council’s full council meeting on October 24 members reported a couple of incidents which had left them ‘alarmed’ by the police response times.

Cllr Graham Fox told fellow members that he had experienced a ‘distressing situation’ whilst walking on Kit Hill recently and informed the police immediately — but was left alarmed by the time it took them to respond.

A woman was heard screaming in the area while Cllr Fox was walking with his wife and dog. He called the police straight away and gave details of the car and licence plate but despite the potential severity of the incident, it still took police 32 minutes to get to the scene.

‘The incident we witnessed could have been potentially very serious and it took the police a shade over 30 minutes to attend — that to me is very scary and not good enough. I spoke with the police the next day and it turns out the people were just “mucking about”.

‘We know that since 2010 there have been 600 front line officers cut from Devon and Cornwall police and 500 other staff but there comes a time when we have to say enough is enough.

‘I have lived in Callington a few years and I have kept an ear out for what’s going on and it’s clearly a problem with the amount of police in the area. I raised the issue at town council as I wanted backing from other councillors, and they did, so hopefully we can take it further.’

Helen Dowdall, clerk for Callington Town Council, echoed similar concerns, having had a highly vulnerable person in her office and being left disappointed with the support provided by the police service.

Mrs Dowdall said: ‘We think that the amount of officers on the ground is awful. We aren‘t blaming the local officers in general but police presence and response rates in general are not good.

‘The officers are doing what they can but the resources are not enough.

‘We at Callington Town Council have grave concerns and we will be submitted our thoughts to Devon and Cornwall Police.’

Councillors resolved to write to the Devon and Cornwall Police Force about the matter and request that a written response be sent as to what had happened.

A spokesperson from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner said: ‘It is right for the town council to seek a full and clear response from the police and it is appropriate that they use that channel in the first place.

‘As part of the police and crime plan the commissioner is carrying out a review to investigate variations in response times across the force area and how this fits with public expectation.

‘That review will conclude at the end of the year and will help to set an acceptable service level expectation.’