Melton MP vows to take action after upsurge in crime in town

His comments come as a petition has been circulated by a fed up resident calling on him to act after two major arson attacks, a spate of burglaries at small businesses and a succession of thefts from the vehicles of tradespeople in recent weeks.

Sir Alan says he has written to Leicestershire Chief Constable Simon Cole requesting the full crime figures in Melton over the last year to identify where the specific problems are and assess how the police are tackling them.

And he has invited residents who have been affected by crimes and those concerned about them to contact him.

He told the Melton Times this week: “If any constituents of mine have been victims of these disgraceful crimes recently but have felt not enough has been done in response, I would be very interested to hear about it.

“I would be glad to follow up their cases with the police personally.

“If they have specific suggestions of changes that could be made in their local area to stamp down on these anti-social crimes, please get in touch.

“Enough is enough and we need to come up with a plan of action.”

He said he would also be speaking to Melton Council to discuss what actions they are taking to resolve the increase in crime, adding: “The recent spate of crimes in Melton is utterly unacceptable and is causing real stress and worry for local people.

“We all need to feel safe in our homes and on the streets.”

Recent criminal activity prompted resident Chris Fisher to set up an online petition, which already has nearly 600 signatures and which will be delivered to Sir Alan.

Mr Fisher said: “We need support from our police force, councillors and local member of Parliament to look at a long term plan to tackle these issues before our beautiful town declines any further.

“The local residents are not prepared to watch their town deteriorate and do nothing about it.”

Resident Glynn Cartwright wrote to Chief Constable Cole to tell him local people claimed police didn’t seem to care when they reported crimes to them.

He wrote back: “You can tell them it is an urban myth that we don’t care; we do care, hence why the prisons are full.

“We allocate the resources that we have against reports of crimes and incidents.

“Our daily tasking is based on what has been reported, and what we can look for each day.”

Crime can be reported by calling 101.

Sir Alan Duncan can be contacted at his Melton office on 01664 411211.