COLWALL parishioners aired their views at the village's Annual Parish Meeting on Monday (April 30).

A minute's silence was held for Coun Henry Ellis and former clerk to the parish council, Martin Brent, who have died during past year.

The main feature of the meeting was a presentation from Superintendent Guy Rutter, Commander of the Hereford Division of West Mercia Police, entitled 'A Brighter Future for Policing in Herefordshire'.

In his 20-minute talk, he explained to parishioners that when he arrived in his position, he was faced with a shortfall in Hereford Division's budget.

He said that the situation was now starting to stabilise, and 18 new recruits were now trained or being trained in the county. He described the force's plans for the future, which included working with schools through a system of beat managers and tackling speeding within rural villages.

"We started from very, very hard times," he said. "The present situation is that we're stabilising and starting to go up. We will end up with 20 more constables than when I started two years ago."

Supt Rutter also responded to questions on whether he thought that Colwall received value for money from the £99,000 a year that the village provides the force.

"I really think you get the best value you can," he said. "But do I think we have enough money? No."

He concluded his presentation by urging residents to support the police by airing their views.

"If we work together, our chances of success are far greater," he said.