MP IVAN Lewis is demanding that Bury gets its fair share of police officers after 19 were transferred elsewhere in Greater Manchester.

He has called on the county's Chief Constable to be "open and transparent" and publish his criteria for allocating staff.

Mr Lewis says it is vital that Bury is not short-changed or viewed as the "sleepy division" in relation to similar boroughs.

The Bury South MP, in collaboration with his Bury North counterpart David Chaytor, is asking the chairman of the Greater Manchester Police Authority to raise the matter when the authority meets tomorrow.

The MPs say they are delighted that Bury has been allocated an extra 59 police officers and 20 community support officers in recent years, and accept that the 19 officers redeployed recently were over and above that.

"However, we remain concerned that there was no consultation with us or other key local stakeholders," says Mr Lewis.

"Indeed, it remains unclear whether the redeployment of the 19 from Bury is being phased or has been implemented in full."

He added: "We remain to be convinced that Bury is getting its fair share of police officers in relation to other boroughs.

"We want a report in the public domain, through the police authority, to make absolutely certain that the people of Bury are getting a fair deal in terms of policing.

"We've never claimed we should get the same as places like Salford or inner city Manchester.

"However, nor should we be short-changed in relation to other similar police divisions and be dismissed, informally or otherwise, within Greater Manchester Police as the "sleepy division". We are concerned at the gap in the numbers between us and other places like Stockport or Trafford."

Mr Lewis added: "Crime and anti-social behaviour continues to be a major concern of my constituents, and one major way to respond to that concerns the number of police officers.

"Decisions should not be made behind closed doors, but should be open and transparent so that we and the people are able to scrutinise."