A POLICE officer who has done a "sterling job" in a challenging role will leave Kempsey after five years walking the beat.

PC Allen Naulls announced his departure as beat officer for Kempsey at the Annual meeting of the Parochial Electors at the village community centre on Monday.

PC Naulls will leave his position as soon as West Mercia police find someone to replace him and hopes to continue his work for the police in Upton-upon-Severn, where he is now based.

David Harrison, chairman of Kempsey Parish Council, said: "It's the wrong time really but I will thank Allen Naulls for all his hard work within Kempsey.

"He's done a sterling job and it has been hard."

Inspector Clive Griffiths, who was also at the meeting, confirmed that they were now looking for a replacement for PC Naulls, who has given regular police reports on crime figures to the parish council for the last five years.

PC Naulls said: "The plan is that I'm going to move to Upton to be the beat officer there.

"It's the same role but a different area. It has been challenging working in Kempsey. Unfortunately the main problem here is the anti-social behaviour with the youths but we do need the assistance of parents."

PC Naulls, 56, said he had tried to work with the community to get the youth club running an extra night a week to keep youngsters off the streets and out of trouble.

He has also helped to secure two anti-social behaviour orders against regular offenders.

He said although there had been problems in the village there were three to four months (October - January) when there were few problems and that crime had fallen.

During the meeting PC Naulls called on parents to take more responsibility for their children and said the village's 20 neighbourhood watches had provided "valuable information" to police.

In his time as a beat officer PC Naulls has faced a number of problems with anti-social behaviour, including the slow "demolition" of a 250-year-old bridge in The Rocky conservation area, youngsters playing football in the middle of the A38 which is the main road through the village, attempts to uproot a lamppost, damage to the cricket pavilion in Plovers Rise, graffiti and criminal damage.

Police figures show that crime has fallen by 11 per cent between 2006/07 and 2007/08 - with 433 fewer victims of crime.