A PUBLIC meeting has failed to quell fears about a police shake-up.

About 80 people packed into Jubilee Hall in Bishop's Waltham to hear what changes are on the cards for the Meon Valley after growing concerns over the past few years about the way the area is policed.

Many people left dissatisfied after being told that the policing structure would change, but not told how.

Resident Paul Goodhew said: "All our questions were left unanswered. The police told us that the area they cover is going to be made larger and that money was going to be saved.

"When we asked how we were going to be policed in future, officers said they couldn't tell us."

In November 2003, Meon Valley residents confronted officers after a police review saw emergency services moved from Bishop's Waltham to Park Gate police station.

In February, residents collected more than 1,000 signatures calling on police to step up their presence in the village after a spate of vandalism.

There are also concerns that a massive countywide police reorganisation launched last month will see police focusing more of their attention on urban areas like Southampton and Winchester.

The force will split into six operational command units from the existing 11 basic command units.

Meon Valley is currently under the command of Fareham and Gosport but that unit is merging with Winchester to create the Central Command Unit.

Bishop's Waltham Parish Council leader Gideon Lake said that the village had been down this road before.

"We had a policing change 18 months ago," he said.

"The response unit was moved from Bishop's Waltham to Park Gate and a lot of people raised concerns that the response wasn't as good as before. Now just as we are settling into that it looks like they are on the move again, but they cannot tell us whether Bishop's Waltham is going to become an active station again.

"I hope the police don't think that constant change is giving the illusion of progress."

Meon Valley's Insp Shaun Moore said the public meeting had gone well.

He added: "At the moment the response team comes from Park Gate while the beat officers are based at Meon Valley. I would like to see them amalgamated and both operating from Meon Valley."