TEAMS of police officers are set to be deployed in villages to pound the streets and help fight crime. Problems from muggings and burglaries to littering and illegal dog fouling are set to be tackled by a flood of new Police Community Support Officers (PC

TEAMS of police officers are set to be deployed in villages to pound the streets and help fight crime.Problems from muggings and burglaries to littering and illegal dog fouling are set to be tackled by a flood of new Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).They will be sent to work in villages including Yatton, Congresbury, Churchill, Winscombe and Cheddar.The officers will be told to tackle crimes which are most prevalent in a particular village.The PCSOs are currently finishing their training at Avon and Somerset Constabulary's headquarters in Portishead.The police hope high visibility patrols will reassure elderly residents and reduce the fear of crime in rural areas.Yatton could be handed around three new PCSOs to tackle problems. They will be supervised by the village's community beat officer Andy Bibbings.The number of officers which will be given to each village has not been decided yet.PC Bibbings said: "This is all about neighbourhood policing and a change in thinking - a shift towards working closer to the community. Hopefully I will get three new officers which will work as a mini team with me, and beat officers in other villages would have a similar arrangement."They will be tailored to tackle the most prevalent problems in whichever village they are working. The black and white of what they will do exactly is still being thrashed out however."This is being funded by the Home Office and the officers are still all being trained at the moment. Although their powers are less than a beat officer, the high visibility patrols will hopefully start to discourage crime and reduce the fear of crime."They will be able to keep a track on persistent offenders so we know who to target.