THE request by the Gloucestershire Police Commissioner Mr Martin Surl for a hike in the police share of our council tax is a disgrace considering that prior to his engagement his manifesto pledge was that there would be no rise in police council tax.

To the council tax-paying public of the Forest of Dean Martin Surl's request for more money can only be seen as a joke considering that we don't have an adequate police presence in the Dean.

Over the years, we in the Dean have seen our police number decline to unacceptable levels and because we all sat back and did nothing we are now left with nothing.

Two of our police stations, Cinderford and Lydney, have been closed and with them police presence in two highly populated areas.

I have no doubt that soon Coleford police station will close and with it the last vestige of a recognisable police presence in the whole of the Forest of Dean.

The money we already pay to the police out of our council tax I consider nothing more than legalised extortion seeing that the large urban areas like Gloucester and Cheltenham benefit vastly while we of the Dean have to manage with a couple of police cars.

The police authorities care nothing for the Forest of Dean and would rather send police officers that should be here instead to the cities.

Gloucestershire's crime statistics can be manipulated and made to look extremely favourable by using manpower to tackle petty crime in the highly populated cities thus outweighing the need for allocation of police officers to our area in the Dean.

Not only should the council taxpayers of the Dean vigorously resist any tax rise in the Dean but should also fight for a major cut in the police funding that we are already paying. Third class policing deserves third class funding.

– Brian Jackson, Broadwell.