Dunne joins Police Operation Christmas Presence

Last Friday night, Bridgnorth MP Philip Dunne joined local beat officers treading the streets of Bridgnorth as part of West Mercia's Operation Christmas Presence. Mr Dunne joined Sgt Simon Rees and PC Richard Wood with Bridgnorth councillor John Hurst-Knight on a night shift to see for himself the nature of local policing during the potentially lively pre-Christmas revelry.

Mr Dunne said: "I was pleased to join local police during the heightened presence in the town on Friday and Saturday evenings in the run up to Christmas. Operation Christmas Presence has been successful in keeping the streets of our local towns safe and free from disturbance during weekends in December when Christmas parties are in full swing. I was very impressed by the sensitivity with which local police officers dealt with concerns of residents and local business managers alike.

It was a bitterly cold night at the beginning of this week's cold snap and this led to a thankfully quiet night - but police officers were on the streets until the small hours of the morning in these conditions, all part of the job." Cllr John Hurst-Knight said: "It was interesting to spend time with the police to see at first hand how they keep Bridgnorth residents safe. It was good also to welcome our hard working local MP Philip Dunne to join Operation Christmas Presence and witness at first hand the fine job the Bridgnorth Police team do."

Photo: Philip Dunne with Cllr John Hurst-Knight (left), Sgt Simon Rees and PC Richard Wood (right) in Bridgnorth High Street during Operation Christmas Presence.