A STAFFING crisis within Hampshire police is leaving dozens of calls from the public unattended every day.

Officers are unable respond to scores of calls simply because there are not enough of them on duty to go round, it emerged last night.

Southampton was singled out as one of the worst-hit divisions, where bosses recently had no staff to send to an incredible 166 calls in ten days.

Among them were several 999 calls and numerous non-emergency calls, all of which went unattended within required time limits or were not attended to at all.

The Daily Echo has learned that among the unanswered incidents on Southampton's streets were:

l A fight involving between ten and 15 people.

l A drunken man causing problems in the street.

l A woman whose purse had been snatched ten minutes earlier.

l A suspected drink-driver behind the wheel of a car.

Last night Hampshire Police Federation called for urgent action to relieve what was described as "a disgrace".

Speaking at the organisation's annual meeting in Winchester, federation chairman Alan Gordon said: "Staffing levels in this force have never been so appalling.

"Something has to be done and done fast, before one of our members is hurt, or worse."

The shocking statistics were revealed as Hampshire Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan pledged to slash the amount of administration which keeps officers from patrolling the streets.

"We need real growth in police numbers as demand for our services is increasing relentlessly," said Mr Kernaghan.

"Too much time is still being spent by officers in custody centres, filling in forms, sitting at computers, preparing files and waiting around in courts."

The packed meeting heard it was not uncommon for just seven officers to cover the whole of Southampton city centre and Portswood at night.

At the same time, the Shirley area often had just five officers, while Bitterne could be struggling with only three.

Sgt Gordon said: "It is becoming unbearable for our young officers out there, day after day, trying to win the battle on the streets.

"They all deserve better than this. Some-thing has to be done to address this crisis."

The federation, which represents Hampshire's 3,400 rank-and-file officers, called for minimum staffing levels to be introduced across the county.

Sgt Gordon also questioned whether officers should be allowed to continue serving on community and youth projects while their hard-pressed colleagues' lives were at risk on the streets.

The meeting heard that increasing numbers of police officers were being signed off with stress, injuries and sickness.

At present there are nearly 130 officers on long-term sick leave - an increase of 20 per cent on last year.

Another 120 officers are on restricted duties, leaving nearly ten per cent of the force currently unavailable for frontline duties.

Federation chiefs called for improved health facilities and regular medical checks for all officers.

The meeting was told a lack of recruitment had also hit Hampshire hard, with the constabulary currently 75 officers under strength.