LETTER: Response to a call for police

On the afternoon of June 2 I took my dog for her usual walk over the fields off Sycamore Avenue and narrowly avoided a collision with a youngster zooming around on a quad bike.

As it turned out there were three of them, taking turns tearing around the field pulling wheelies and generally dangerous driving.

Considering there are two children’s play areas by that field, which were being used by several ladies with their young children, a couple in prams, I thought reporting this to the police was the only option.

I phoned them at 13.25, and while on the phone one of the youngsters flew past me, narrowly missing myself and my dog.

The call handler could easily hear the bike engine and told me a car was en-route. I stayed in the car park by the allotments for over an hour until I heard the bike ride off into the distance, but still no sign of the police so decided not to waste any more time and went home.

So I take it now, not just burglaries, now women and children in danger are not important for Sussex Police. Perhaps it’s due to the fact they can’t generate any funds from investigating such crimes...

Delmar Ford

The Pines, Horsham

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Editor’s note - a spokesman for Sussex Police said: “We are sorry to hear of the experience of your reader who reported anti-social behaviour in Horsham last Friday.

“Our Contact Centre received a call at 1.26pm that day. It was assessed for response within the hour. The caller was advised of this and it was passed to local officers. Two PCSOs did attend within the hour and searched the area but did not find the quad bike or any witnesses to its misuse.

“The officers are from our local Prevention Team who look into problems like this, working with partners on longer-term solutions wherever possible. They can be contacted on 101 Ext 530214 or via [email protected] and will be happy to talk to your reader.

“We continue to encourage the public to contact us with concerns about anti-social or criminal behaviour, and we always seek to provide an appropriate response based on our assessment of the circumstances in each case, balanced against the need to respond properly to all the calls we are receiving all the time.”

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