More than 70 residents of Bretton, Westwood, Longthorpe and Ravensthorpe attended the meeting held at Jack Hunt School, in Netherton, Peterborough, on October 22, and certainly made sure their voices were heard on policing priorities.

At the last panel meeting, held on July 30, the following priorities had been agreed: Anti-social behaviour, vehicle nuisance and drug issues in Holditch Street, vehicle crime in North Bretton and alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour in Hampton Court, Westwood.

After giving the meeting an update on the priorities and crime in the area, Neighbourhood Police Sergeant Jerry Tinsley opened the floor to residents to have their say, after recommending the priorities remained the same for the next three months.

He said: "It's great that residents in the area came and had their say.

"We recommended we kept all three of the previous priorities, but residents felt strongly enough to say they wanted two new ones.

"It's refreshing to hear their views and good to see the community being empowered in decision making for their areas."

Following the feedback from Peterborough District Hospital staff, who had faced intimidation, that anti-social behaviour had improved in the area of Holditch Street, this priority was replaced by dealing with a resurgence of graffiti in Ravensthorpe and Westwood.

A spokesman for Peterborough City Council at the meeting reminded people that there was a 24-hour hotline, where they undertook to clear up any reported graffiti within two days.

Problem parking in Ledbury Road, Netherton, also generated a heated debate, resulting in it being made the second priority, and, finally, vehicle crime in North Bretton was rolled over as the third priority, as it still remains a problem.

Residents also had the opportunity to grill new Neighbourhood Inspector Dominic Glazebrooke, who has recently replaced Mark Rogers.

Sgt Tinsley added: "It's great that so many people come along, and it's not just the police and our analysts telling people about crime hotspots and what should be done.

"Residents' comments are what the panel meetings should be about."

nTo contact the team, call 0845 456 4564 and the graffiti 24-hour hotline, 01733 425300.