WHEN I first saw Stockbridge police station it was in the 1980s and Sergeant Owen Bates was known as the “Sheriff of Stockbridge”.

It was the middle of the night and I was part of a police contingent sent to assist from Gosport as New Age travellers had moved into Longparish just before the summer solstice. I was young in service then and thought how nice the place looked even with lots of revellers roaming around.

Now we are packing up and closing the station down as the building is no longer cost efficient to run.

By selling some of our inefficient buildings we can make some of the savings we have to make as a result of our reduced budget. The move to the retained fire station is going ahead and as with any move we are checking that we are taking all that is needed.

At least we can pop back if we have forgotten something as it is only 100 metres away!

The good thing is that we are moving but not leaving – we will still be a part of the community, being based in Stockbridge. The move will be the first of many collaboration initiatives for Hampshire Constabulary with partner agencies such as Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service or local councils.

The Stockbridge fire fighters have assisted us in the move.

In other news, we have had some thefts from beauty spots car parks and we have visited the sites, leaving cards from the Carsafe Scheme. It still amazes us that people leave valuables in view, or even windows ajar. A simple checklist is as follows: l Remove all valuables.

l Leave nothing on show.

l Make sure the vehicle is locked.

Report any suspicious behaviour around vehicles to the police and remember if you have a sat-nav remove it, the cradle and the suction marks and do not put it in glove box.

If you have any information of criminal offences in the rural area of Andover please contact us as below or contact Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Don’t forget – we need you to let us know what is happening in your neighbourhood. We also want to set up more Neighbourhood Watch Schemes.

If you want to discuss this with one of the team either call 101 or email andover.rural.npt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk.