BRISTOL International Airport should contribute to the cost of its police beat team, according to a Weston town councillor.
BRISTOL International Airport should contribute to the cost of its police beat team, according to a Weston town councillor.
Cllr Mark Canniford made the comments at a meeting of the town council on December 11, where he raised the issue after discovering the numbers of officers employed to cover the site.
There is currently one inspector, one sergeant, 10 constables, four police community support officers and three special constables.
Cllr Canniford said: "The airport has its very own policing team, yet they do not make any contributions towards paying for it.
"Members of the public end up paying through their council tax, yet they do not get their own private service.
"I think it should be added to ticket prices so that only those using the airport are charged for the police force, as only a minority of all taxpayers probably use it."
The airport's police inspector, Dave Stokes, said: "Funding for the police team comes from three sources, and two of these are from central government.
"These pay for a substantial amount of the costs for the team.
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