JUST four on-the-spot fines a month are handed out by police community support officers (PCSOs) to yobs committing public disorder crimes in the entire Avon and Somerset area, latest figures have revealed.

JUST four on-the-spot fines a month are handed out by police community support officers (PCSOs) to yobs committing public disorder crimes in the entire Avon and Somerset area, latest figures have revealed.

PCSOs issued just 53 fixed penalty notices for antisocial behaviour in last financial year.

Although regular rank-and-file officers dealt them out as well, that is about four a month handed out by the support officers thought of by critics as a cheap solution to policing.

*To read the full story see the Weston Mercury.