A LABOUR councillor and the police and crime commissioner for Cheshire have been locked in a war of words over changes to the constabulary.

Cllr Chris Vobe has called on John Dwyer to 'think again' over the decision for officers to start and end their shifts at Charles Stewart House in the town centre.

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for the changes to be overturned.

Cllr Vobe said: “The response to our petition to date has been overwhelming with hundreds of Warrington North residents registering their dismay at the changes implemented by the Tory Police Commissioner.

“John Dwyer cannot simply pool the wool over people’s eyes.

“His politically-motivated restructure is taking PCSOs and police off our streets, as we lose up to 2 hours of officer time every shift.

“Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft are most profoundly affected by this and the people I represent are outraged – the Tory Commissioner has let our villages down.

"Now, residents in areas such as Birchwood, Rixton, Winwick and Westbrook, who will also be severely impacted, have weighed in behind our objections.

“There is little doubt that John Dwyer does not have public support for his proposals.

"The fact that he has failed to guarantee the future of Risley Police Station only demonstrates further his contempt for residents in Warrington North.”

But Mr Dwyer has hit back, adding that he has received a clear message from the people of Cheshire which is that they wish to see more officers in front-line policing.

He said: "Working with the chief constable, Simon Byrne, we have put 130 officers back into front-line policing, kept all 220 PCSOs who do vital, visible work in our communities and have bucked the national trend by recruiting an extra 53 new police officers.

"To support our front-line officers a new local policing unit structure has been introduced."

Mr Dwyer added that he could not comment on Cllr Vobe's petition as he has not been informed of the findings.

He said: "I am disappointed that he has used language which is deliberately chosen to alarm our communities.

"However, I pride myself on being open and accessible to all members of the public and I am happy to discuss his findings in person.

“I invite Cllr Vobe to join me in discussing policing at our newly refurbished police station in Warrington.

"Since coming into office I have been explicit, that whilst I am a member of the Conservative party, I would not bring party politics into my role as commissioner.”