POLICING priorities for Marlow's beat officers over the next year have been set by residents.

Parking was revealed as people's top gripe, while anti-social behaviour - including underage drinking - and speeding on roads also made the top three.

As part of the town's newly formed Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG), priorities were decided by residents after Marlow officers held a public meeting at Court Garden on June 27 and distributed questionnaires in the High Street and at events such as Marlow Regatta.

The leaflets asked respondents to list the top three things they liked about the town, followed by the top three main issues the community would like the police to tackle.

Under the new neighbourhood policing scheme based on community partnership, the issues will be tackled by volunteer working groups made up of representatives including residents, the police, local authorities, businesses, schools and organisations.

Inspector David Evans, head of Wycombe rural policing, said: "The priorities are such that we have already started working on parking enforcement. From that point of view, people should be aware that we are doing more and they shouldn't be surprised if the chance of getting a ticket increases if they park illegally in the town centre.

"We'll also be monitoring surrounding areas of the town so we don't just displace problems as we tackle them. People need to keep supplying us with information, for example if their road becomes a problem with these issues as we tackle them in the centre of town.

Insp Evans added: "We had our first meeting of potential NAG members on Monday. At the next meeting in September we will be at the stage of looking at problem solving on some of the issues.

"With the NAG we can start to think laterally about the problems as a group of partners. We'll be looking at answers to everything, not just enforcement - although that remains the responsibility of the police - because everyone in the community has a role to play as far as this is concerned."

Officers say Marlow's NAG is in the process of being set up and should be ready within a few weeks.

In the meantime, work is already being done to target the three identified priorities.

Under the NAG, a team of six Thames Valley Police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) is dedicated to targeting policing issues in Marlow. They are Insp David Evans, Sergeant Emma Leigh, PC Alex Ash (neighbourhood specialist officer), PC Carl Pearson, PCSO Adam Shaw PCSO Stuart Bart.

The neighbourhood police team can by contacted via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 08458 505 505.