TOP cops have found it's not so good to talk after their mobile phones were cut off to ease the pinch on police pockets.

Officers in the CID department of Weetwood Police, including the drugs squad, have been left without their phones since cash-strapped bosses decided not to renew the contracts.

And now community-spirited organisations are stepping in to reconnect them in a sponsorship initiative supported by the force.

The scheme is the brainchild of crime prevention officers PCs Neil Walmsley and Neil Pearson, whose own mobiles have been sponsored for the past two years.

Mobile phones are often the only point of contact for officers working on important operations. PC Pearson said: "They are not used as a status symbol but as a useful tool.

"There are certain situations in which CID officers need to be contactable but not through a radio or the usual means."

Colleague PC Walmsley added: "One example is in the drugs squad where officers have informers who need to get hold of them and who will not talk to anybody else or leave messages."

Police chiefs have blamed the rising costs of the phones for the move.

A police spokeswoman said: "The contracts came up for renewal and we found the revised charges had gone up substantially.

"We felt we could not justify the money. It is a cost-cutting measure but one which has been forced on us rather than a choice we have made."

She said all those who had phones for work purposes would have pagers, a radio or both.

But the enterprising PCs are now hoping sponsorship will mean that is not the only option. Civilian crimebusters on the Weetwood Crime Prevention Panel have already offered their support, funding a mobile for the drugs squad.

A panel spokesman said they were happy to fund a good cause.

He said: "They come to us from time to time with requests for items such as smoke alarms for people who can't afford them.

"They told us mobile phones were being withdrawn and that the drug squad in particular was legless without them. It was a unanimous decision to sponsor one.

"But we only have limited resources and hope there will be other people willing to sponsor more."

PCs Walmsley and Pearson are also hoping others will follow suit, with two more organisations already lined up. The scheme uses the One 2 One contract, costing £29 per month which provides 100 minutes of 'talk-time'.

PC Walmsley said: "We would not expect anybody to use more than that. The reason for having the phones is so that the person can be contacted. We are looking for about six to eight, providing not individual officers but teams."

l Any organisation or group wishing to offer sponsorship should contact PC Walmsley on (0113) 2413432.

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