Opposition is mounting against boundary changes proposed by North Yorkshire police which could see Craven submerged in another division.

Craven district councillors fear that Craven could lose its status as a division and be left as part of a bigger area, with just an inspector overseeing the area.

Craven Councillor Beth Graham, chairman of the Council's community services committee, has written to police chiefs expressing her worries.

She wants the boundary of the local authority and that of the police division to remain in line with each other.

"Any move away from having a divisional commander for the Craven area would be a backward step and would have a detrimental effect on the service delivery.

"Craven is relatively isolated. It has two trunk roads with poor accident records. Police attendance is often required at our many cave rescue incidents and the local population is substantially increased during the tourist season.

"The events of the last two weeks with the tragedies at Gargrave and Bolton Abbey exemplify this."

She added that the Skipton police division had a good track record in crime prevention.

She said the issue had not been fully discussed with all members of the Council because of the pressure of committee timetables, and called for a longer consultation period.

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