CHANGES have been announced to the way Barnoldswick and Earby are policed.

The chances are designed to improve the service that Lancashire Constabulary provides to local residents and are a direct response to feedback from local people concerned about policing cover.

They will come into effect in April and will include:

o Appointing four Community Beat Officers (CBOs) to cover Barnoldswick and Earby - three at Barnoldswick and one at Earby. It will help to meet the growing demand for community policing in West Craven and comes in response to consistent public demand and the successful appointments of 18 other CBOs in the police's Pennine Division.

o Keeping Sergeant Martin Holleran at Barnoldswick to co-ordinate the new community team, which will be created from existing local officers.

o Retaining Barnoldswick and Earby's dedicated mobile patrol at all times. These officers will work from Colne and ensure 24-hour cover for Barnoldswick and Earby, which will be backed up by extra patrols from Colne at peak times.

Inspector Richard Morgan said: "The changes are designed to enable Pennine Division to make the best use of its limited resources and give the public what they want.

"The new structure will allow us to continue our vital response work in all towns and at the same time, enhance the level of community policing undertaken, particularly in Barnoldswick and Earby - areas which have so far not had their own Community Beat Officers.

"The appointment of CBOs in other communities in the division has met with huge public support and, following surveys in Earby and ongoing consultation at meetings, it is clear that there is a large proportion of the community that want to see a more community-based policing style in Barnoldswick and Earby too.

"The problem has always been balancing the need to respond swiftly to emergencies - which means cars - and providing a better level of community policing, which means identifiable foot patrols that have time to spend talking with people."

Inspector Morgan added: "By refocusing our resources, we believe that we can provide both and, in doing so, strike a better balance between the need for response policing and community policing.

"We considered the view of local residents, given at community meetings and via letters to the police, and we also consulted with local councillors before making the changes, which are changes for the better.

"We will also be carefully monitoring the effects of the changes to ensure that all parties in the area are receiving a high quality policing service."

Local councillors were briefed about the proposed changes at a meeting last week.

They offered their support to the move, recognising the better services that the communities they represent would get under the new system.