By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter
A police and crime commissioner has come under fire after claiming that if she was a drug-smuggler, she’d use Lyme Regis as a gateway to the UK.
Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner (PCC) Sue Mountstevens' comments have been branded 'disgraceful' for singling out the town.
Ms Mountstevens told a PCC and police public forum in Bristol: “Our colleagues at the border agencies do phenomenal work and they work very closely with our crime units.
“But if you look at all the ports that are around, we’re an island.
“So if I was a drug dealer, I probably wouldn’t go to Dover.
“I would go down to Lyme Regis or somewhere like that.”
Reacting to her comments, Cllr Brian Larscombe, chairman of Lyme Regis Town Council’s planning and human resources committees, said: “That’s disgraceful.
“Quite frankly we could have done without being mentioned.
CRITICAL: Lyme Regis Town Councillor Brian Larscombe
“Rather than naming Lyme, she could have spoken just generically about any of our rural south-coast resorts.
“That would have been enough and it would have been preferable.
“To single out Lyme as a place for importing drugs is a bit odd.
“We do not want any encouragement of that.
“She needs to know her geography. Lyme is at the apex of Lyme Bay, the largest bay on the south coast.
“It’s probably the furthest coastal town from the continental coast.
“If a boat was to cross the English Channel in the middle of the night and make for somewhere like Lyme, the chances are it would be undetected.
“But that can be said of lots of places along the coast down into Devon and Cornwall. Historically they are smuggling towns.”
Speaking alongside Ms Mountstevens at the meeting last week (Tuesday, March 12), Avon and Somerset police chief constable Andy Marsh said: “Most drugs don’t come through our airports.
“You’re very foolish if you try to bring drugs through the airport on your person, let alone a mule who has swallowed them
“But that’s not where the volume comes. It’s in millions and millions of containers coming into the country, and a tiny amount of them are checked.
“The people pushing large amounts through their supply chains have only got to get lucky a few times and they’re making millions.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here