A NEW rural beat is being created in Wyre Forest.

Blakedown, Chaddesley Corbett, Churchill, Rushock, Shenstone, Stone, Broome, and part of Clent was formerly known as Kidderminster Rural East and was part of the Aggborough and Spennells Local Policing area.

The rural areas are now being merged with Cookley and Wolverley and will be known as Kidderminster Rural.

They will be the responsibility of local policing officer, Sally Sliwinska and community support officer, Kate Easthope.

Insp Paul Crowley, of Kidderminster police, said: “We have made this change in order to provide the best possible level of local policing for Blakedown, Chaddesley Corbett and the surrounding areas.

“PC Sliwinska and CSO Easthope have years of experience in policing the rural areas of Cookley and Wolverley and it made sense for them to take on responsibility for the other rural areas of Wyre Forest.

“They also run very successful Neighbourhood Watch and HorseWatch groups in Wolverley and Cookley and will be looking to get these expanded to the other rural areas.”

PC Sliwinska and CSO Easthope are planning to set up a new PACT (Partners and Communities Together) meeting for Blakedown, Chaddesley and the surrounding areas and welcome approaches from anyone interested in being on the panel.

They can be contacted at cookleyandwolverley.lpt@westmercia.pnn.police.uk.

Cookley and Wolverley will continue to have their own PACT meeting. Priorities from the last Cookley and Wolverley PACT meeting, which took place on Tuesday last week, were concerns about poor road conditions and potholes in Lea Lane, Cookley, overgrown trees and shrubs on the footpath on Wolverhampton Road, Cookley and speeding in Castle Road and Lea Lane, Cookley.

Updates on those will be given at the next meeting at Wolverley Church Hall on April 14 at 7pm.