The city’s police commander has urged Bradford Council to help protect the “very important blue line” provided by community support officers.

With police force budgets being slashed by central Government, West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison has pledged not to cut front-line services but some funding for PCSOs is under threat.

Chief Superintendent Alison Rose, divisional commander for Bradford South Police, has given her own reassurance that front-line services in Bradford will be maintained.

But she said: “One of the biggest threats to that is the continuing funding of the PCSOs. This is why we are asking for a contribution from Bradford Council. We need the support of the Council to maintain the PCSOs.

“We must do everything together to maintain that very important blue line. PCSOs are a vital part of Neighbourhood Policing. They are accepted by the communities and valued by local people.”

Chief Superintendent Rose has received a petition from residents in Buttershaw to keep their PCSOs and says she is repeatedly asked by people to make sure the community officers were safe.

She said: “PCSOs are definitely here to stay, the question is, how many? And this is where I am looking for support from Bradford Council, and in particular the elected members.”

Council leader Ian Greenwood also acknowledged the role played by PCSOs. He said: “PCSOs make an extremely good contribution to the community across Bradford and I value them. We are in discussions with the police about the funding of PCSOs and I hope we can come out of those discussions with some constructive result.”

Ian Bairstow, the Council’s strategic director for environment and neighbourhoods, said: “In the current financial year Bradford Council contributed £1.1 million towards the £5.7m cost of Police Community Support Officers. Our contribution came from Working Neighbourhoods Funding which ceases in April, 2011.”

Chief Supt Rose also pledged that essential services, such as providing support to vulnerable victims and children, would not be affected by budget restraints.

But she conceded: “Inevitably, some of the support functions will have to change, and we are working with the staff affected.”

She said the vast majority of cuts were to be made at force headquarters in Wakefield.

Inspector Pam Mills, of the Tong and Wyke Neighbourhood Policing Team, said her PCSOs provided reassurance and support to members of the public.

She said: “PCSOs do an excellent supporting job. The PCSOs are the people the public are seeing on a daily basis and who they are taking their issues to.”

Insp Mills said that during the bad weather, PCSOs had pushed people’s cars out of the snow, found a wandering child when officers in cars could not get to the scene, and fetched prescriptions for stranded old people.

She said: “It’s important people appreciate what they do. They are out there in all weathers. They are the faces that people know and they are trusted.”