ANXIOUS residents crammed into their community centre this week to object to police plans to build a new custody centre on Manor Park.

Senior officers from Cheshire Police met residents at Sandymoor Community Centre last night (Tuesday) as the World went to press.

Residents argue the proposed custody centre by Manor Farm will lead to an increase in crime as detainees are released into the community.

Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall has also written to Halton Council asking for the plan to be refused when it goes before its planning committee.

Resident Chris Riley said: "Using the information supplied in the planning application, up to 100 people a day could be brought to the custody suite and then released."

The owner of a business on Manor Park Industrial Estate, said: "There's concern about local firms' insurance and the fact that we might have to start getting improved security.

"That impacts on profitability, and profitability is what employs people."

Cheshire Police want to build the centre as part of a plan to centralise their custody facilities.

They want to build three centres in Runcorn, Blacon and Middlewich to consolidate their custody staff.

They argue this prevent drafting in front-line officers to cover shortfalls.

Custody cells are currently spread out at six police stations.

Ch Insp Dave Bertenshaw, head of the custody project, said: "The current facilities aren't helping because the designs need updating.

"They don't match the demand.

"It's not about cutting costs, the immediate result should be that we don't need to take officers off the street.

We have nothing to hide.

"We want to make sure people don't get unnecessarily alarmed about something we believe will have real benefits for the community.

"This is not going to Alcatraz or Risley, it's designed to look like ordinary police premises.

"People are not released at all times of the day and night. We don't release people at night as a general rule."

However, police cannot detain someone just because it is night time and many Widnes detainees are from Liverpool and would face a long journey home.

Prisoners will be transported to the centre in specially designed vehicles operated by a private firm, rather than by police cars, and private staff will also run much of the centre.

A custody centre built on a residential estate in Brighton sparked anger when people were released without a way of getting home.

Phil Mills, a reporter on the World's sister title in Brighton, The Telegraph & Argos, said the area has seen an anecdotal increase in crime with taxi drivers refusing to pick up detainees at night.

The two-acre Runcorn site would hold up to 34 cells in two one-and-a-half storey buildings, and could be taking prisoners by April 2005.

Contrary to last week's report, planning permission for the centre was not rejected twice by Warrington Council. The two groups did not agree on a site after informal discussions.

Halton's police division is behind the centre being in Halton, though around 30 other sites in Halton and Warrington were rejected for reasons of security, access and proximity to residents. English Partnerships are understood to back the scheme and it is their land earmarked for the project. Around 100 objections have been sent to the council.

Tony Stanton, a member of the Save our Sandymoor action group, said: "We're not prepared to see the area go to the dogs. Halton Council is supposed to be encouraging families to set up here, not drive them away in fear."