PARISH councillors in St Peter's, Worcester, have quizzed police on crime-fighting after losing two community support officers.

Since the start of the year, the local policing team has lost both its community support officers (CSOs) through transfer or promotion with just PC Andy Chuter remaining.

Council chairman Ross McFarlane said anti-social behaviour had been brought under control and councillors did not want the situation to worsen.

He said people's expectations about tackling the area's crime were still high despite the temporary loss of two CSOs and their knowledge of the area.

In 2005, a section 30 dispersal order around the Abbotsbury Court area, near the village hall, helped curb anti-social behaviour and vandalism by giving police greater powers to move on groups of two or more people. Mr McFarlane said: "We had a lot of officers here for a number of months and that got the situation under control. There is a fear that if we do not have those resources we will be back where we were."

Police officers from West Mercia headquarters joined colleagues from the local policing team at a meeting of St Peter's Parish Council this week.

Councillors asked visiting officers Sgt Mark Smith and PC Rebecca Handy if the parish was getting resources to tackle parish residents' concerns including anti-social behaviour, vandalism and drug-taking.

Sgt Smith and PC Handy explained how police were continuing to work in the parish through the Partners and Communities Together (PACT) panels and through backing for the existing policing team. PC Handy said the panels allowed residents to report crime, get updates on how specific issues were being tackled, and speak directly to officers covering St Peter's.

She said beat officers, including PC Chuter, were backed by a dedicated police team at headquarters and could draw on Worcester city's crime-fighting resources, if necessary.

Coun Roger Knight said: "Today we are looking for somebody who knows the territory, knows the people and the pinch points locally and is known by people in the community.

"There has to be more to it than reacting to crime."

Two new CSOs are due to join PC Chuter this year, with the first arriving within the next two months.