A west Dorset police station has reopened its doors to the public on a trial basis.

Dorset Police has re-opened Lyme Regis Police Station's front-desk in a bid to be 'more accessible' and 'better serve the people of Dorset'.

The station, on Hill Road, will be open for two days a week on Tuesday and Thursday.

This provision, according to the force, will compliment existing opening hours in other county stations including Bridport.  

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick, said: “I’m delighted to see local front desks opening up across the county again.

"It’s a priority of my Police and Crime Plan to make policing more ‘visible and connected’ to the people and communities it serves, and this contact option will give back to the public the opportunity to go and speak face-to-face with the police.

"I have been pushing Dorset Police hard ever since I became PCC to get some front-desks open again – after all, it’s what the people of Dorset told me they wanted – local, accountable, old-fashioned policing, because there are times when speaking with someone direct, to report a crime, to share community intelligence or to get some help and advice is what’s needed.”

Superintendent Pete Browning from the Force Command Centre said, “Continuing to improve the visibility and accessibility of Dorset Police is a priority for the force. 

“We appreciate that people prefer to engage with police in different ways, so it is vital that we provide different options accessible to our communities.

“Opening another police station to the public will provide the local community with another contact option, which will improve the convenience of contacting the police and strengthen the service we offer to our public.”

As well as offering more availability to attend police stations, Dorset Police says it's bringing local police into communities at Community Contact Points.

It says this is a way for members of the pubic to meet their local officers, report crime and incidents, or discuss issues that are important to them with a police officer, face-to-face.

These Community Contact Points are drop-in events scheduled across the whole of the county.

The opportunity to meet local policing teams are advertised on the Dorset Police website and local social media platforms.