At a recent constituency surgery in Rainford, I met with a group of residents to talk about policing in the village, the number of burglaries and anti-social behaviour taking place.

I am a strong supporter of our police officers, PCSOs and civilian staff and have raised my concerns in Parliament over police cuts – and the impact of those cuts on policing our community and on the officers themselves. Merseyside police have seen officer numbers drop by over 270 in the last three years alone, while at the same time crime has risen by nearly 14%.

I will be taking up residents’ concerns with the police, the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and the Home Secretary. The issues raised in Rainford are the same raised by residents in areas across the constituency – residents at surgeries in Billinge, Moss Bank and Blackbrook reported the same problems and issues.

The thin blue line is being stretched to breaking point. Jack, the young son of one of the residents, read out a letter he asked me to send to the Chief Constable about crime in the area.

If a primary school pupil can see what the problem is, why can’t the Home Secretary?