KNUTSFORD will have three new policemen by November, it was announced yesterday (Tuesday).

As criticism mounted over officers' response times and opening hours at the town's station, Chief Inspector Paul Keeling said they had to wait for new recruits to complete training.

"They will join the division in Macclesfield and we will move more experienced officers to fill the additional places at Knutsford," he said.

"One started today and the others will start in November."

Knutsford's community action team, who are based at Chelford Police Station, could also see their numbers bolstered by three.

The decision was announced as businessmen in Knutsford called for a better service from police.

One garage manager, who asked not to be named, complimented Knutsford's officers, but said there were not enough.

"They are under a lot of pressure which is not fair on them and this community," he said.

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"The community is suffering at the hands of these villains who are being allowed to roam around and carry out these crimes.

"The response isn't quick enough and the villains know this so they are taking the rise out of the police."

The manager said thieves had twice stolen fence panels from behind his garage and in a separate incident tried to break in.

It is believed the culprit has not been caught despite the businessmen supplying police with a description.

"The biggest problem is the total lack of communication because it only takes a two-minute phone call even if it is just to say 'we can't go any further at this stage,'" he said.

"These kind of incidents are making me aggressive to the system because I don't feel I am getting the response I should, but by being this way I don't feel I am helping the system."

Residents have long complained about opening hours at the town's Toft Road station and concerns over response times.

Police bosses reassured residents that Knutsford always had cover from officers in Wilmslow and the motorway after a recent armed robbery in the town centre.

But on Friday businessman Robert Newton said that was not enough.

He claimed he called at the Toft Road office that morning with details of an assault, but got no answer.

"I decided to go myself because phoning is no good whatsoever," he said. "I wanted to speak to someone face-to-face, but there was no one there. It's as if our police do not exist."

Mr Newton wanted to give officers information regarding an alleged unprovoked attack in which a man was punched to the ground and kicked in the head.

But on Friday afternoon he still had not been able to speak to anyone about the crime. "I'd like to see more officers at the station," he said. "If the police were a business they'd have gone bust by now."

Mr Newton, who runs a company in Princess Street, approached the Knutsford Guardian after we revealed only one Knutsford officer was on duty on one particular day.

But last week several policemen and a sniffer dog were hunting a thief who had stolen a handbag.

The Alsatian and its handler were seen in St John's Churchyard where the thief is believed to have been spotted, rummaging through the bag just minutes earlier.

Two police cars then sped along Toft Road after staff at Knutsford Library, where a visitor's bag had been snatched, alerted them.

Officers tried to corner the thief behind the former Knutsford Furniture Galleries shop and were seen scouring King Street.

Yesterday Chief Insp Keeling said he was aware of residents' concerns.

"We have been shouting quite loudly that we want more officers to come in and bolster areas like Knutsford up," he said.

"We have been waiting for the new probationers to come through training school and once they arrive at the division we can release more experienced officers into Knutsford."