A NEW Inspector is now in charge of policing in Liphook, Petersfield, Liss, Bordon and Alton.

Inspector Pete Parkes started work as boss of the East Hampshire Police Team on Monday.

Mainly based at Mill Lane in Alton, he says he intends to divide his time between there and the police offices at Penns Place in Petersfield and at the Eco Station in Camp Road, Bordon.

And the police officer for 24 years says the challenges of policing his new mainly rural patch will be very different to what he was used to.

He said: "It is a huge, quite affluent, area, but one with a very low rate of major crime, and that is a message I am keen to send residents; this area has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, crime rate in Hampshire.

"But we are aware there are problems with anti-social behaviour and burglary for example, and these affect residents’ quality of life, and we will be working hard to resolve them wherever and whenever we can."

With one sergeant, three Police Constables (PCs) and seven Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Petersfield, a sergeant, two PCs and six PCSOs in Alton, and a sergeant, four PCs and four PCSOs in Bordon, Insp Parkes says residents’ help in dealing with issues is vital.

Insp Parkes, a former sergeant in Southampton, said: "We will target areas that suffer with these issues, but we need residents to contact us and tell us about any problems.

"Residents’ input is crucial in helping us, and I would ask them to contact us if they see anything suspicious.

"If community engagement is good, it helps get results, and improves the quality of life."

To report a crime call 999.