SENIOR police officer Gordon Wilkins has admitted that his force's response times in Princes Risborough are "appalling."

Sergeant Wilkins, sector commander for Princes Risborough for Thames Valley Police, told a meeting of Princes Risborough Town Centre Forum on Monday that response times to incidents in the town fell well short of expectations.

Police hope to respond to an incident within 15 minutes, 85 per cent of the time. But only 58.9 per cent of incidents in Prince Risborough were responded to within the 15 minute period, according to Sgt Wilkins.

He said of the figures: "I think they're appalling."

He has made representations to senior officers about the statistics but also said that the low numbers of crimes in Princes Risborough meant a few incidents can have a disproportionate effect on the figures.

Sgt Wilkins told the meeting that the latest crime statistics for the area show that total recorded crime from April to November, last year, went down from 541 to 416, a decrease of 23.1 per cent.

Violent crime also went down by more than 30 per cent over the same period.

Sgt Wilkins said: "I'm very pleased. It's nice to see a reduction in crime."

He added: "People shouldn't become complacent but make sure their property is safeguarded."

Sgt Wilkins said that the clear-up rate (reported crimes solved) of 16 per cent needed improving.

Cllr David Allworth, chairman of Princes Risborough Town Council, said afterwards that the figures set for police response times were unrealistic.

He said: "The times are very poor but it doesn't surprise me.

"The response times the police are looking for are totally unrealistic."