Crime fighters are facing cash crisis

The town's Neighbourhood Watch association is fast running out of money.

The group has about 1,100 left in its bank balance. This is less than a year's running costs.

Treasurer Doreen Ellis warned the dozens of members at the association's annual meeting last week that action had to be taken to bring in more funding.

The past year to the end of April had seen the association spend just over 600 more than it received.

Its expenditure on matters such as newsletters and officers' expenses reached 1,268 while its income, mainly from grants, was just 665.

'If this continues, we will definitely not cover our expenses in future years,' she stated. 'We will try to raise money somehow.'

One reason for the poor financial situation was the fact that some councils declined to fund the association last year after having made donations in the past 12 months.

The group has been established since 1985 and is among the most successful in the country.

It has 425 street co-ordinators who cover about 12,000 households. This equals some 60 per cent of the total number of households in the district. This is around double the national average.

Roger Nash, the association's chairman, said: 'If there is anyone who knows of any fund raising we can benefit from, then Doreen would love to hear from them.'

Middleton Parish Council chairman Cllr Paul Wotherspoon said his council, which handed over 100 last year, would be pleased to help again. 'We will endeavour to find money for the association next year,' he stated.

The association is now aligned with its sister group for Littlehampton and Arundel, rather than its traditional partner of Chichester, to reflect the boundaries of the police.

Its members' work was praised by the senior police officers present at the annual meeting at Felpham Community College for helping to raise awareness of crimes and supporting crime prevention ideas.

Mr Nash was re-elected unopposed at the meeting along with the association's other voluntary officers.