POLICE officers cannot handle the huge number of telephone calls that flood into their call-handling centre every day - according to new Chief Constable Peter Fahy.

Cheshire Police is speaking to huge communication firms like BT to attempt to ease the ever-increasing public demand before it moves to new headquarters in Winsford, this October.

Some disenchanted Warrington residents voiced their dissatisfaction at this month's Town Hall police forum about dwindling police responses but officers say that the mobile phone boom has left call handling teams struggling to cope.

A new call-handling bureau has been temporarily established at Warrington's police headquarters in Charles Stewart House and police spokesperson Brenda Cowling said it had allowed 30 per cent more calls to be answered in some parts of the county.

Enquiries from Congleton, Vale Royal and Macclesfield have already moved to the temporary site and Chester calls will soon be transferred over to Warrington before Cheshire Police take receipt of the new Winsford building in October.

It is hoped the new purpose-built base and training centre at Woodford Park will modernise the call-handling system and provide a better service to non-emergency callers.

Speaking at this month's police forum meeting at the Town Hall, Ch Con Peter Fahy said: "It's a real dilemma. The police are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"BT find it really hard to understand that the more calls we get, means less profit. With the increased demand flooding in, we can't handle it.

"We want people to be able to phone us from the privacy of their own home. We don't want people to have to come down all the way to the police station when they are getting no response. But the appeal for policing is never ending."