PEOPLE across Keighley will pay more for their policing in the next year.

The police precept is to rise by just under five per cent for 2020/21.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson, said the 4.99 per cent increase would equate to no more than £7.26 a year extra for most households.

And he pledged that the rise, which has been approved by the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, would help fund more police officers and protect the number of PCSOs.

Mr Burns-Williamson said: “I want to continue to increase frontline visible policing as much as possible, putting more officers in our neighbourhoods and making sure communities are safe and feel safe – which I know is a priority for the many people I engage and speak with.

“Despite the uplift in funding for 2020/21, a serious concern remains about the longer-term pressures given the very significant reduction in officer numbers and staff during austerity and the increasing demand and complexity of policing activity.”