More prisoners in Cheddar

POLICE in Cheddar can now keep more prisoners in their holding cells while they carry out enquiries, thanks to a new computer system.

Officers previously had to fill in a mountain of paperwork to book in an offender or take people to Bridgwater or Burnham where staff could do the work on a specialist computer system.

But the station in Cliff Street is now linked up to the system and officers were able to deal with four prisoners last week, who were involved in public order offences and theft.

Sergeant Mike Tripp said: "It's great because we can now deal with people locally and the system links up to the rest of the force. It's cuts down the amount of time officers need to travel. It also helps us deal with people quicker so we can get officers back out on the street."

The station only has one cell so officers can hold one prisoner at a time, but it allows them to do their work a lot quicker.