OUTRAGED residents in Thornbury have spoken out after it was revealed Thornbury policing had been reduced for the foreseeable future following the re-deployment of two long-serving officers.

PC Sean White and special sergeant Roly Lock have been transferred from the Thornbury beat to Filton “due to operational resourcing requirements”.

This leaves the town with one police officer and two PCSOs manning the beat until a replacement is found.

A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset Police said a timescale was not yet known as to the appointment of a replacement, but that someone would join the Thornbury neighbourhood team “in due course, once released from their current duties”.

But despite the changes being temporary, many residents took to social media to condemn the move, citing rises in anti-social behaviour and petty crime in the area.

Thornbury’s beat team are currently based in a site at the rear of the town hall, having moved there last year.

Previously the team had occupied a temporary premises in the former South Gloucestershire Council offices in Thornbury, following the demolition of the police station on Rock Street in 2013.

Thornbury resident Jackie Longman said: “This is an absolute joke. Crime in Thornbury is getting worse. We need more police not less. Someone tell me what our ever rising council tax is paying for.”

Julian Elsbury added that this was announced in the same week that as a further housing development in Thornbury had been granted planning permission, bringing 130 homes to the area.

Roger Hall said: “That's a good idea when anti-social behaviour is on the increase and the local population is going up by the week as more residents move into houses on the new developments.”

David Hale suggested there might be direct correlation to the decrease in policing cover and an increase in reports of crime, particularly involving young people, in the town.