POLICE have warned Steeton-with-Eastburn Parish Council about coming changes to cover in the villages.

Councillors were told that shift patterns were due to change in early February as part of major changes to the Neighbourhood Policing Team.

Police surgeries, which allow residents to talk privately to officers, will not happen in Steeton or Eastburn, for the foreseeable future.

The villages’ dedicated Police Community Support Officer has been moved to another unit, but another was expected to be found.

Police told councillors that there had been 18 crimes across the parish during one month last autumn, including 11 at Airedale Hospital.

Crimes included a burglary at the hospital’s mental health unit, the theft of a pedal cycle, damage to a car, a theft at the Morrisons mini market, and the theft of a purse outside Eastburn Fisheries.

Councillors reported that a scooter was causing problems in Emsley Street, Steeton, and there had been egg-throwing incidents during last Halloween.