I READ with disgust your front page article about how the police failed to respond to four 999 calls after a local locksmith caught a shoplifter. How dare the police meekly claim that this fiasco was a mere error of judgement . However, it does highligh

I READ with disgust your front page article about how the police failed to respond to four 999 calls after a local locksmith caught a shoplifter.

How dare the police meekly claim that this fiasco was a "mere error of judgement".

However, it does highlight the role of Wisbech's half dozen plastic plod PCSOs.

We now we know that they are incapable of escorting shoplifters to the police station, they are less useful than chocolate teapots.

Nationally, the labour govt spends £240m a year on PCSOs yet won't allow chief constables to use this money by spending it on real coppers.

But that's just another instance of Gordon Brown wasting taxpayers' money.

Local chief plod Julie Spence is also not without criticism.

After all, she prefers to spend taxpayers money on 21 top of the range Volvo estates for high ranking officers to swan around in at a cost of £500,000, rather than see Wisbech being policed properly.

The only way to stop this rot in the police is to make them properly accountable.

Chief constables should have to stand for election and PCSOs should be replaced with proper coppers.

ANDREW HUNT.

Wisbech