A DALES market town has been assured its police station is safe from closure for the foreseeable future.

Rumours began to spread that Leyburn could be on the brink of closure when it emerged that a civilian post is to be cut to help cover the cost of a new shift system.

A retiring member of staff in Richmond will not be replaced and the receptionist from Leyburn will be moved to cover the shortfall.

The move appeared to indicate that the inquiries desk would no longer be manned during the day, and closure of the police station to the public seemed the next logical step.

However, Western Division operations chief, Superintendent Malcolm Foster, has said there are no plans to sever a direct link with the Wensleydale community, specially at a time when forces are trying to bolster resources in rural areas.

"What we are hoping is that we can come to an arrangement which will see a member of staff at the Leyburn community office take on most of the responsibilities which have been handled by the help desk at Leyburn police station.

"We recognise that will take time, so we have agreed no changes will be made to civilian posts in Richmond and Leyburn until an alternative is in place," said Supt Foster.

He said he hoped the arrangement would prove to be an improvement as it would mean someone was available on a permanent basis, whereas in the past, the Leyburn help desk has had to close when the sole member of staff who ran it was on holiday or off sick.

"If it works, it's also something we could look at elsewhere. There are community offices at Hawes and Middleham, and Masham and Reeth are also looking at introducing them. One thing I can be sure of is that there are no plans to close Leyburn police station: both the chief constable and the divisional commander are quite clear on that," he said.