KNUTSFORD Police have voiced their ‘disappointment’ at the number of people who verbally abuse officers checking that drivers are keeping to the speed limit.

Officers regularly carry out speed enforcement sessions in the Knutsford area, with five drivers caught speeding on Chelford Road at the weekend.

An officer checked vehicle speeds over 30 minutes in both Chelford Road and Shaw Drive, with the highest speed recorded in Chelford Road at 40 mph and no speeding offences recorded on Shaw Drive.

The officer said: “It's disappointing how many people throw abuse at myself and my colleagues when enforcing the speed in Knutsford.

“No matter how intimidating these individuals think they are, this is not something that is going away any time soon, and we will continue to use the TruCam to make the roads a safer place for all users. “

Knutsford now has its own police officer and PCSO, PC Neil Cooke and PCSO Tom Nairn, dedicated to serving the community.

Cheshire Police has launched its new approach to community policing, which will see dedicated police officers assigned to each of the county’s 122 policing areas to tackle crime and support communities.

The initiative has been developed by Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane, and builds on the successfully delivered initiative to provide a dedicated PCSO and police community base for each area.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: “The new community police officers will work with their fellow PCSO, the wider policing team and key partners to build relationships within the community, sharing the same mission to solve problems at their root cause before they become more serious.

“They will spend more time in the heart of their dedicated communities and be given time to deal with issues that matter most to local residents.

“Another benefit of the changes is local residents will have more opportunities than ever before to directly contact their officers, either online, through social media or face-to-face during police surgeries.”

The work of the new community policing teams will be supported by a funding package for each community, made available by the Police and Crime Commissioner from money seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.