AN ARMED response unit – together with a police dog – is to be based in Falmouth following a series of armed robberies.

Inspector John Trott made the announcement while talking to town councillors on Monday, stating he had asked for the extra resources to be made available to Falmouth in direct response to the past month's incidents.

"There will be more resources working from Falmouth," he said. "We will have an armed response vehicle based at Falmouth, to be able to respond quickly to any incident that may arise, and have a permanent police dog in Falmouth.

"If something happens elsewhere they may have to be deployed, but rather than being stuck in Camborne, they will be based here.

"We have armed response vehicles on patrol all the time in Devon and Cornwall.

"The fact of the matter is they are based in other parts of the county and I have asked that we have one locally so we can contain situations, protect officers and members of the public close by, and victims. I hope we don't have any further armed robberies, but that does not mean there won't be any and we have a duty to protect people."

The announcement, however, prompted opposition from one member of the council.

David Noakes said: "I think this is a completely unnecessary over-reaction. If you have an armed response unit, people are going to get killed.

"I propose that we register our protest against it."

No other councillors agreed, though. Mayor Mike Varney said: "The police would not be putting something in place unless there was a necessity."

Cllr David Sterratt added: "There are criminals out there with guns. If there is going to be people on the streets with guns, I would rather it was the police.

"The unfortunate thing is, society has changed. People are going to use guns and we cannot let them get away with it."

Cllr Gerald Chin-Quee said: "We are talking about moving a resource that already exists. We are not talking about arming the policeman on the street. I would like the message out there that the armed response vehicle is somewhat closer than before."

Steve Eva summed up the thoughts of many when he said: "It would be a sad day if the council tried to tell the police how to do their job."

Defending the decision, Insp Trott said: "I am just asking that a unit be based here for the time being so we can get the matter (the armed robberies) sorted out.

"The armed response vehicle would be there as a total and utter last resort.

"At the end of the day, we still live in a very, very safe place. Our crime levels are low in comparison with other places."

● Armed robbers strike again – page 5