A WAR of words has broken out between a Burnley councillor and the police over the alleged withdrawal of community beat officers from the town.

Coun Tony Lambert said the community beat manager for his Trinity ward had not been on patrol there since Thursday of last week.

He claims to have been told that most of Burnley's community bobbies had been temporarily withdrawn from their duties to work in the town centre.

But his claims have been denied by Burnley police bosses who say beat bobbies have not been taken off their beat.

Coun Lambert, a former policeman, said: "They have abandoned community beats altogether and I think it is totally scandalous.

"This was set up and it was working really well and suddenly they have dragged them all onto other duties.

"They were getting to know people in their area and it was working, so this is all rather disappointing.

"Residents will start to lose faith in their beat officer if this continues all over the borough."

But Superintendent Steve Hartley said: "It is simply not true that that all community beat managers have been taken off their beat.

"When there is a major operation which requires additional resources, we may occasionally abstract a community beat manager from their duties for a short period of time but they are never routinely removed. Indeed no-one below the rank of Chief Inspector is able to authorise an abstraction."

He said Burnley Council's wardens should be providing additional support to help reduce the need to pull community beat officers from their duties to a minimum.

Superintendent Hartley said: "Under the Crime and Disorder Act, the local authority has a responsibility to help us with the fight against crime.

"Following Coun Lambert's concerns, I will be speaking to the manager of the wardens to see what the two wardens working the Trinity area can do to assist in providing local residents with the reassurance they require."

The Pennine police division currently has 38 community beat managers, 21 of those are based in Burnley. There are also plans to recruit another 18 - six each for Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.