A PENSIONER who called police after hearing a burglar alarm claims she was told to investigate the matter herself.

Molly Barnes says she was advised to check out the cause of the ringing after she called Whalley police station to complain.

Mrs Barnes, who is in her 70s, and of George Street, Whalley, said: "It just kept ringing, so I called the police, but they told me to go round and have a look.

"They said it must be a cheap alarm and would go off eventually.

"There's something going wrong somewhere if an old woman is asked to go and investigate a potential burglary. They should pull their fingers out and get it sorted.

"It's unbelievable!"

Local councillors are now calling for more bobbies on the beat.

Coun Arthur Pearson, who represents Whalley on Ribble Valley Council, said the situation was 'ridiculous'.

He said: "Mrs Barnes is an elderly lady and in no position to go round to a house to check if it's being burgled.

"The police should have taken immediate action and I will be contacting them to see what they have to say.

"When I moved to Whalley in the 1950s there were five police officers in the village, now there is only one and the area is expanding all the time.

"The police are thin on the ground here and we need more bobbies on the beat.

"To ask an elderly lady to check on the cause of an activated burglar alarm is plain crazy."

Ribble Valley Mayor Joyce Holgate, who is also a Whalley councillor, said she had tried contacting the village police several times to discuss the matter, but their telephone line was constantly engaged.

She said: "Policing in Whalley needs to be overhauled and I will be pursuing this matter until I get some answers.

"Asking an elderly woman to investigate a potential crime is ridiculous."

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said people usually only contacted the police if an alarm had been ringing for a long time and was disturbing the peace.

He said: "According to national police policy if people contact us regarding an activated burglar alarm we ask them how long it has been ringing and if they have seen anything suspicious.

"If they have, we will respond immediately.

"But most people only ring us if the alarm has been ringing for a long time and is annoying them.

"We are looking into Mrs Barnes's claim and will comment further when we have established exactly what happened."