Ilkley'S success in the fight against crime should not be 'rewarded' by starving the town of senior police officers, a parish councillor has urged.

At a meeting of Wharfedale Police Community Forum on Tuesday, councillor Michael Lynes attacked the 'worrying trend' of Ilkley's senior police often working elsewhere.

And he has issued a stark warning that this will lead to a rise in crime in Ilkley.

He said: "It's a retrograde step. We seem to be so often without a police officer.

"It will go back to the bad days of these forces not being used properly.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it. I sat in this room just over a year ago - I was very concerned that because we were having success in our area we would have our resources drained within one year."

After the meeting, he added: "A year ago it was very easy to get hold of a sergeant in Ilkley - now it is very difficult.

"Crime is already at an unacceptable level. It will start to rise back up to the high levels of three years ago - this is back door erosion of the force.

"If you have a situation where you see a burglary in the morning, you can react to this in the afternoon if you have a high ranking officer locally who can deploy resources."

He is backed by Harry Rowlinson, of Addingham, who presented a map of Addingham to Superintendent Derek Bonnard as a light-hearted gesture.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Rowlinson said: "It was a joke really. It's to back-up what I was saying - this is so that we can show him where Addingham is."

Superintendent Bonnard said: "If I go to work in the morning and it says there's problem in Ilkley and there's something that we need to do - then I will direct resources - I haven't

deliberately taken Inspector Alison Bennett away, it's part of the

strategy. "

After the meeting, he added: "Inspector Alison Bennett and I have spoken about her role, and if there's a need, I will make sure that I will redress the balance."

Inspector Bennett said: "My priority is Ilkley section - that is my job as section commander. We do think that it is important for local representatives to be in touch with what is going on."

l ADDINGHAM: Police have reported an upsurge in village crime last month. There were three house burglaries in April compared with none in the same month last year.

There were also two burglaries of other types of property compared with none in April last year.

Parish councillors have also asked for figures of village crimes that have been solved by police.

l PEOPLE who are planning to mark the Millennium in style by holding a party are being urged to co-operate with police.

At a meeting of Wharfedale Police Community Forum on Tuesday, police chiefs revealed that police preparations are already underway for the Millennium. Superintendent Derek Bonnard said: "The message that needs to go out is that if anyone is thinking of organising an event of any kind of scale, please let the police know. Lights may go out and telephones may go down. We are not trying to say 'don't have a good time', but it's a significant event. If you are planning anything major, please let the police know so we can help you in the process."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.