THE former Mayor of Maldon has met with the Chief Constable of Essex Police to raise concerns about poor public order and lack of policing in the Maldon District.

Chairman of the District Council’s Crime and Disorder Committee Mark Heard met with Chief Constable Steven Kavanagh on Thursday to discuss his concerns following a wave of crimes in the district in recent months.

Green’s Groceries, Mrs Sailsbury’s Famous Tea Rooms and Bunting’s Butchers on Maldon High Street were all broken into in April and May, with the Standard reporting last week that a District Council unit had been raided in Riverside Park, Burnham, with £9,000 worth of equipment stolen.

Mr Heard, a former police officer who served as Maldon Mayor in 2015, has been a stoic campaigner for increased police presence in the town.

He said: “I have received and read a lot of negative comments over the past few months regarding poor public order in Maldon and the wider District and concerns about the lack of any police presence in the District, particularly the High Street.

“I told Mr Kavanagh that it is clear that a local people are worried and that a police presence is missed. People are concerned that minor incidents were not being addressed and will escalate into more serious offences if local criminals think that there are no police about.”

Mr Heard expressed fears to the Chief Constable that future cuts would reduce police-public contact even more.

A House of Commons Briefing paper released in February stated Police Service strength as of March 2015 is 2,965 officers – a reduction of 641 full time officers (18 per cent) since 2010.

Mark Heard added: “Mr Kavanagh said he was sympathetic to the view of the public and we discussed several pro-active operational options to improve the situation. He told me he would look into some ideas I put to him and I left feeling confident that he will.

“I will now take this matter further and I will invite The Police and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst and the District Commander Superintendent Alan Cook to my next Crime & Disorder Committee Meeting on October 12.”