OKEHAMPTON'S new monthly mayoral breakfast attracted 35 guests to its first session on September 25.

Thirty-five people were present at the White Hart last Wednesday, with representatives from local churches, community groups and business groups among those in attendance.

The speaker was police inspector Andy Oliver, who provided an account of what is happening in the Okehampton area.

He provided a brief summary of his time in the police force, starting in North Devon in 1988 where he remained for eleven years before being promoted to sergeant in Liskeard. He then moved to training at HQ Middlemoor and was responsible for probationer training, sergeant and inspector training and custody training.

He served at HQ in a variety of roles, including firearms commander. As well as being a police inspector in West Devon he is also the commanding officer at Okehampton Air Cadets.

Inspector Oliver spoke about some of the local crime issues and how the public and business groups can get involved.

He highlighted recent successes for the police in West Devon, but also addressed the fact that the area has one of the highest rates for serious and fatal car crashes.

Among the traffic topics covered were the need to reduce car speeds, stop using mobile phones while driving, drink driving, and people not wearing seatbelts.

Town mayor Cllr the Rev Mike Davies was very pleased with the turnout for the first breakfast meeting, and encourages anyone living in Okehampton to attend.

He said: 'As mayor, I believe it is part of my responsibility to demonstrate what a wonderful town Okehampton is, and how important it is for residents, business owners, and community leaders to get together.

'I am hoping that the Mayor's Breakfast meetings will provide the opportunity for people to know more about what is going on behind the scenes. Hence, it was great to have Inspector Oliver speak at our first breakfast.'

The next breakfast meeting, which is open to all, will have the principal of Okehampton College Daryll Chapman as its speaker. The meeting will be in early November, with the date to be confirmed.