POLICE will continue to work from the harbour office at Salcombe following a successful trial period.

Sgt Dave Green said the result of the February pilot has been very positive from both the police's point of view as well as the harbour authority's.

He said: 'PC Steve Mullen and PCSO Dave Gibson have found that they can function perfectly well out of the harbour office and that being in such a central location, in fact, brings many benefits.

'They are more accessible to members of the public who want to contact them, they are geographically better sited for issues occurring in Salcombe town centre, and if the officer is out of the office there is a facility to leave messages at the harbour authority's public desk. Additionally, because Salcombe harbour authority and the local police work closely on matters of marine crime, the operational benefits of co-location are also apparent. Best of all, they haven't yet fallen out over tea bags either!'

As the pilot has been a success, the officers will remain in the harbour office, while the police seek to dispose of the police station.

Sgt Green said: 'I am confident that this arrangement will further improve the police's accessibility and visibility in Salcombe, as well as cementing the professional relationship with one of our key partner agencies.'

Town mayor Roger Moore said: 'Personally, I think the trial went well. The true evaluation will, of course, be more accurate after we have the experience of a summer of operation to look back upon.

'Also until we have a major incident occurring it is not possible to see if alternative community facilities can make up for the shortfall. Hopefully that situation will not happen in the near future.'

A South Hams Council spokesman said: 'It is working out very well for both the police and the harbour and we have already made a decision to continue the arrangement. We are very happy with the arrangement. It has benefits for both of us.'