Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner would consider reopening Helston Police Station to the public if there was “a strong strength of feeling” for it.

Tony Hogg, a former commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, made this assurance in a letter to Helston Town Council, who had written asking for him to reinstate the front desk at the station that closed in January 2011.

Mr Hogg said: “The reality is that very few front desks were used regularly, with the majority of the public preferring to use the telephone.

“If, however, there is a strong strength of feeling in Helston that this position should be reviewed then I would welcome a business case from the town council that evidences the need for the re-instatement of this service, which I would then be able to give my thorough consideration.”

Discussing the issue at last Thursday's town council meeting, councillor Martine Knight believed the council would have “extreme difficulty” in proving reopening the desk would be a feasible option.

“There's no harm trying, but it would be virtually impossible. In an ideal world, where there are no budget constraints, they would have all stayed open but more than half of them were closed,” she added.

However, mayor Jonathan Radford-Gaby said he had heard a report of a member of the public needing help urgently from the police, but despite banging on the police station door they had to contact the central call centre via the phone outside. “How barmy is that?” he said.

Councillor Ronnie Williams said the council should support it “on behalf of the people” of Helston, adding: “The public in general want it. More than likely it will never happen, but we're seen to be looking after the people.”

Councillor John Boase suggested Helston contact the parish councils on the Lizard Peninsula and Porthleven Town Council to see if they could give their support.

It was agreed to write to Mr Hogg for more details on what information he would expect to find in the “business case” he wanted Helston to submit.

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