CASTLE Point Council will cut funding for community police because it believes the cash is being used to fund officers elsewhere in the county.

Jeffrey Stanley, councillor responsible for finance, said the council would withdraw £61,000 it currently spends on four Police Community Support Officers for the borough.

He said funding was provided on the understanding there was a total of 20 PCSOs operating in Castle Point, when the actual figure was only 15.

He said: “The record shows we are not getting full value for money. It’s up to the police to put PCSOs where they are most needed, but it doesn’t seem right for Castle Point to be funding more PCSOs on Southend seafront, or wherever they may be.”

Essex Police said the problem had occurred because they are struggling to recruit in the borough.

A spokesman said: “When a person leaves his job as a local PCSO, it can take a while to recruit and then train a replacement, and that can leave a temporary vacancy.

“But police commanders will always redeploy officers from other areas as necessary.”

PCSOs are used differently from force to force, but their role tends to involve patrolling streets, dealing with minor offences, guarding crime scenes and conducting house-to-house inquiries.

Castle Point pays for half the cost of four PCSOs working in the borough on the understanding they patrol particular trouble spots.

A spokesman for Essex Police said the jobs would not be lost as a result of the cash cut.

He said: “These vital jobs will not be lost, but some of the specific patrolling the council prioritised as part of the funding agreement will no longer be possible.

“The PCSOs affected will be redeployed to meet policing priorities within the area.”

Basildon and Southend Councils both said they did not provide funding for PCSOs.