WARNDON Police Station will be opening regularly on Saturday mornings for the first time as officers attempt to provide a more consistent service.

The station was not manned in the past if all officers were out on the beat, but over the coming weeks the police are piloting a scheme to staff the front counter.

Insp Andy Smith, of Worcester police, said it was his aim to keep the station manned on a Saturday morning.

He said: "Like anywhere else, the biggest cause of complaint in Warndon is that of anti-social behaviour, whether that be from older or younger people, or perhaps a neighbour.

"In opening the beat station on a Saturday morning, we hope to meet residents' wishes to see it open more often and at more accessible times."

Insp Smith said people wanted to see police out on the streets more and this meant there was there was a balancing act between that and how much time they could spend in the station.

He said: "It's a trade-off. The community wants to see officers out on the beat but we want to get the message across that our aim is to have Warndon beat station open for the next several weeks at least.

"If it proves successful, we hope to continue to provide this service. We will have a volunteer and at times a beat manager to answer general enquiries."

Insp Smith said at the moment people could go to the station but leave without taking any further action, if there was not a police officer there at the time.

But he said he hoped this would change if residents knew there was a member of staff there at a specified, convenient time.

"For the first Saturday we were open this week, we had about half a dozen people coming in in three hours," he said.

"They had various enquiries and it proved opening the beat station on a Saturday was a success."

The station, which is in Cranham Drive, opened last December following a public meeting in which residents demanded action about yobs threatening shoppers in the area.

Have you got a Warndon story? Call Warndon reporter Ian Wishart on 01905 742256 or e-mail him at:iw@midlandsnewsquest.co.uk