PARISH councillors have accused police of not being interested in local issues - because they've stopped attending meetings.

Police wrote to Westbrook and Burtonwood's Parish Council to say officers would no longer be available to attend their meetings.

And when Winwick parish councillors invited police to their April meeting to discuss problems in the village, they were told that issues should be now be e-mailed to the m.

John Gordon, chairman of Winwick Parish Council, said: "The police don't seem interested in local issues and we are greatly disappointed at their response. People complain to us that they can never get hold of the police and when we invite them to a parish meeting, they say they can't come. We don't feel as if people are getting a very good service from the current policing system."

Eddie Coop, chairman of Burtonwood and Westbrook Parish Council, said: "Their refusal to attend meetings really is a backward step.

"We used to forward information to the police that we picked up from people. It was also useful to people who come to the meeting to know that the police are there, listening to their concerns. After years of the police attending, and us having a good relationship with them, it was high-handed for them to suddenly stop coming."

At the time of going to press, police were not available for comment.