POLICE chiefs have performed a U-turn and have decided to revert to the Bodmin, Wadebridge and Padstow neighbourhood policing sector, which will be commanded by an inspector based in Bodmin.
The move has been welcomed locally as a major improvement after concerns that previous changes were stretching officer resources too thinly.
Last month, it was announced that a new inspector would cover a policing area from Bodmin to Launceston and Bude, with beat officers in Padstow and Wadebridge likely to continue being controlled by an inspector based in Newquay.
Now the police have decided to go back to the original sector area previously overseen by Ian Marshall when he was the local inspector.
After Mr Marshall was forced to take early retirement, along with hundreds of other officers who had served for 30 years, under sweeping police cuts, Devon and Cornwall Police decided to link his old sector with Newquay.
Bodmin mayor Ken Stubbs, along with local traders, had voiced concern that the town was likely to suffer from inadequate police resources if the neighbourhood sector was stretched to the Devon border. He said it was "a bridge too far".
But Mr Stubbs said this week that he was delighted the police had had a rethink.
"I don't know if they have come under some sort of public pressure to bring back the old policing sector, but this decision is excellent news for Bodmin and our neighbouring areas.
"I also understand the new inspector will be based in Bodmin, which is also tremendous news," said Mr Stubbs.
Wadebridge mayor Tony Rush also welcomed the police rethink.
"Having a policing sector covering Wadebridge and Bodmin worked very well before and it should have been a case of 'if it's not broke, why fix it'? We didn't need the changes in the first place."
Mr Rush added that he was also glad to see Newquay getting its own inspector.
"Newquay is 16 miles away, while it's only six miles to Bodmin, and I think residents in Wadebridge will be delighted we have our old policing sector back," he said.
