COUNCIL bosses have made police an offer in a bid to try and keep Clitheroe Police Station's front office open.

Ribble Valley Council has offered Lancashire police crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw the chance to combine the council’s CCTV system with a police front desk system.

The CCTV service which covers cameras in Clitheroe, Longridge and Whalley monitored 24 hours a day at an annual cost of £100,000 is paid for by the the council, along with a number of Police and Community Support Officers.

Commissioner Grunshaw announced the closure of police station front offices at Darwen, Colne, Barnoldwick and Waterfoot as well as reductions in service at Chorley, Accrington, Nelson, Burnley and both Blackburn stations.

Cllr Hind said: “As a local authority we have to do all we can to prevent the police commissioner from what I see as continuing to retreat from rural policing.

“The public should be in no doubt that we are certain that had it not been for our offer the Clitheroe police station front office closure would have been announced.

“The impact of closing Clitheroe is that in the largest rural borough in Lancashire, people seeking front desk help from the police or producing insurance certificates and MOT have to go to Blackburn, Preston, Accrington or Burnley.

“This is not acceptable and we had to try and find a way to preserve the service.

“We are happy to work with the commissioner for the betterment of our residents but we reserve the right to point out to him that for every £5 collected by the police in council tax from Ribble Valley residents, only £1 is spent in the borough."

The vice-chair of the Clitheroe and District Branch of the Labour Party David Waters said: “Councillor Hind said the authority will do all it can to prevent what he terms a ‘continuing retreat from rural policing’. These are just empty words.

“Some weeks ago, we wrote to Councillor Hind and to Nigel Evans MP about the cuts to the police budget.

“We urged them to write to the Prime Minister and Home Secretary asking that the proposed further cuts be stopped. They did not even have the courtesy to reply to our letter.

“If Cllr Hind really wants to do all he can then why has he not asked the Government for more money for Lancashire?”