SPECIALLY-trained community officers are to patrol the streets of Lyme Regis over the summer to boost police coverage of the area during its busiest period.

Two police community support officers (PCSOs) will be stationed in Lyme Regis and the surrounding area from Easter through to September, under a new nationwide scheme announced in December by Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Under the scheme, civilian wardens - drawn mainly from military and security backgrounds and employed by police - will be given uniforms and certain, limited powers with which to fight crime. These include being able to use reasonable force to detain someone they suspect of a crime and issuing fixed penalty fines for minor offences.

PC Nigel Arak-Newman of Lyme Regis police welcomed the news this week, saying the population of Lyme rocketed during the summer months.

He said: "They will be another pair of eyes and ears on the streets which will be a great help to us during the summer when we are really busy. They will be linked by radio to police and also to the Radio Link scheme, which will be a big help to shopkeepers."

PC Arak-Newman said the officers would be highly visible, on patrol in the streets of Lyme Regis and the nearby villages such as Charmouth.

He said they would be especially useful in helping police track known troublemakers and in dealing with problems such as abandoned cars and enforcing court ordered curfews. Nationally, the scheme has faced some criticism from police chiefs for introducing what is effectively two-tier policing.

There have been concerns that the ability to intervene in potentially hostile situations should only be carried out by fully trained police officers.

But Home Office minister John Denham, who was born and brought up in Uplyme, has publicly supported the plan, insisting those involved would have proper training and would be accountable to the independent police complaints authority.