A PCSO post box has been installed in Middlewich to allow residents to engage with the police.

The new post box, which will be monitored regularly, has been installed inside the Tesco Superstore.

Ollie Hopwood, Middlewich’s Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) said the post box will enable members of the public to report any concerns, as well as ask general questions about policing in the area.

He said the post box has been installed because a significant number of crimes are not being reported via the usual methods.

PCSO Hopwood said: “It has come to our attention that a vast number of incidents that occur are never reported via calling 101 or 999.

“The issues around this from a police point of view is that, we unfortunately cannot action anything if we are not made aware of these incidents.

“However, the post box is not a replacement of reporting any concerns/issues, it is just another way in which we can make contact with the public.

“Therefore, we came up with the idea to allow members of the public to post their concerns in the post box which will be checked regularly by myself and colleague PCSO Lamon, to allow us to engage more with the issues that people are having throughout Middlewich.”

PCSO Hopwood said the police hope to gain more information from members of the public as a result of the new initiative.

The post box also allows members of the public to pass on information while remaining anonymous.

He said: “We want the public to feel they can report their concerns and queries more easily by posting through this post box.

“Not everyone wants to give details, therefore they can input information and intel anonymously.

“We want to give the members of the public a voice, to let us know not only your concerns but what we, as the police, can do to help you. The post box allows members of the public to drop in their details, i.e. name, address and contact number, so we can then make contact and speak to them about any concerns they have.”

The PCSO post box can be accessed during the Tesco store’s usual opening times.