A HERO police officer who has served Bolton for nearly 20 years will retire next year.

PC Paul Griffiths, Westhoughton’s longest serving police constable, will leave the force in February after nearly two decades.

His exit will leave Westhoughton with only one neighbourhood beat officer - and there are no plans to replace him.

His departure was announced at an Area Forum at Westhoughton High School on Thursday, November 8.

Sgt Gary Howard told the audience he will “fight tooth and nail” for a replacement officer.

But he conceded that it was unlikely to be granted due to ongoing cuts to the police budget. He said the loss of PC Griffiths will further stretch an ‘under-pressure’ neighbourhood policing team.

Addressing residents in the school’s auditorium, Sgt Howard described the challenges of “prioritising resources”.

He said: “We have crazy amounts of demand and we need people to understand and appreciate how we prioritise it.

“We have 2,500 live crimes in Bolton every day and I have one officer in Westhoughton. It’s just not possible to attend every report.

But he revealed that crime rates in Westhoughton had remained stable, with some crimes seeing a slight reduction.

For the period from January 1 to October 31, reports of domestic burglary remained the same, with 104 reports, compared to the same period last year.

Theft of motor vehicles went down 11 per cent, with 110 reports in 2017, compared with 98 this year.

Criminal damage also saw a reduction of 10 per cent, with 150 reports last year, compared to 135 this year.

But the most notable success story for policing in Westhoughton was a 22 per cent reduction in ‘other’ burglary offences (55 reports in 2017, compared to 41 this year).

But theft from motor vehicles remains a concern, after an increase of 27 per cent this year (37 reports in 2017, compared to 47 in 2018).

The total number of crime reports for the year up to October 31 was 1,469, compared with 1, 426 last year - a slight increase of 43 reported offences.

Sgt Howard concluded his presentation by thanking PC Griffiths for his service.

A familiar face in the community, PC Griffiths has been the backbone of neighbourhood policing in Westhoughton since 2006.

In 2009, he was praised for his bravery after he saved the lives of a couple who were violently attacked in their Blackrod home.

Peter and Lesley Horrocks said they believed they were going to be killed before PC Griffiths apprehended their assailant.

His colleague, PC Burrows, said he will be “sorely missed”.

He said: “PC Griffiths is a well respected police officer who has spent the majority of his career serving the community of Westhoughton.

“His departure is a big blow to us. He’ll be sorely missed.”