Madam,

I am prompted to write because of a chance encounter with a local police “community safety officer” in the foyer of an Aberystwyth supermarket.

As I walked past him I realised what he was and I was a little surprised to see him somewhat casually dressed, in semi-uniform and without his hat on.

I am a retired police officer from the days when police officers looked who and what they were supposed to be and looked smart in uniforms that gave a look of official authority. What I saw bore no resemblance to that.

Another thing that worries and also disappoints me is the state of Aberystwyth Police Station. Recently I had to call there to hand in a purse. I went there at about 5.30pm and found the building in darkness and the front door to the foyer locked, which frankly I found very surprising.

Whilst I was waiting outside the station I noticed that there were scores of cigarette ends littering the entrance, the lawns looked quite unkempt and the wooden door was in dire need of a coat of varnish. All in all, it was a very depressing sight. I am one of the officers who worked at the old station and I remember the daythis shiny new one opened.

I wondered what the dignitaries who opened the new station, and my former supervising officers and colleagues, would have thought if they knew then that the building would eventually fall into this very sorry state.

Don’t we have any civic pride left in this town? To me, it’s a statement of the neglect of a public service that is vital to the well-being of its residents and visitors alike. It certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in a service that is so important to us.

Yours etc,

Bob Morris,

Aberystwyth.