KNUTSFORD’S MP has thanked the officers from the town’s police station for helping in the riots that hit the country.

Chaos hit the streets of England last week after gangs rioted in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Nottingham and Liverpool.

As a result the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police found their resources stretched, and had to call in cover from neighbouring forces.

Cheshire Police officers – including a group from Knutsford – were sent to Manchester and London to help out.

George Osborne, Tatton MP, visited the station on Toft Road on Friday afternoon to thank the officers who travelled to the capital and Manchester to help their colleagues.

“The police officers who confronted the mindless thuggery in our cities represent the very best of Britain,” he said.

“Officers from Cheshire went to help their colleagues in Manchester and even London.

“I met some of them in Knutsford and heard about the brilliant job they did in restoring order and arresting the senseless thugs who brought shame on our country.

“Above all I wanted to say thank you for risking their own safety to protect the security of the law-abiding majority.”

Simon Roberts, the chairman of the Cheshire Police Federation, said that although the county had not been affected in terms of the riots the force had been.

“In Cheshire it would appear that to a large extent we have not been affected,” he said.

“Clearly it would be wrong of me to discuss the numbers of officers involved from Cheshire, but wholly right of me to outline the typical sort of experience an officer has had when being deployed to another force area, the sacrifices that an officer is asked to make.

“At midnight on Monday night Cheshire officers who had already completed a shift on that day received phone calls at home, telling them to be available to leave for London at 7am that morning. Those officers then travelled to London and following a briefing were deployed onto the streets of London.

“They worked the rest of the day and into the early hours of the following morning, a 21-hour shift. At 4am they were sent to a shared accommodation block for some rest before travelling back into London for noon the next day and did the same shift again.

“As the officers left Cheshire on Tuesday morning they had no idea what they would face or how long they would be away from their family.

“While they have been away they have had to buy toiletries and clothing. As their representative I can say I have not had one single complaint from the officers who as normal have adopted a ‘can do’ attitude.

“The actions of these officers comes at a time when the Home Secretary and the Government seem intent on reducing the policing budget to such an extent that officer numbers nationally will be reduced by 16,000.

“My message to our political leaders is clear think long and hard before reducing officer numbers.

“It may not be as easy next time to find 16,000 officers to restore order when the number of officers nationally have been reduced by such large numbers.”

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