A new town centre beat officer has taken to two wheels to fight crime and anti-social behaviour.

Pc Tony Leach is the new beat officer

Pc Tony Leach, the new beat officer for central Wantage, pledged to work with local people to tackle the town's problems. And to help cover more ground, he has taken charge of a new bicycle.

The 39-year-old father-of-one said he was looking forward to his new job on the beat.

He said: "I want to create stability in the town centre by getting out and about in the local community, letting people know I am here and that they can come to me with their policing problems.

"Wantage is a really nice town. It still has a strong community spirit and people are supportive of the police. I want to work with local people to identify and tackle problems, which I believe is the common sense approach."

Pc Leach has been stationed at Wantage since last year. He was previously an officer with the Metropolitan Police, and joined Thames Valley Police 13 years ago, serving in Oxford and in a number of specialist departments.

He said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here as a shift officer and am really looking forward to the challenges of my new role. I hope to become very well known. To me, that's the secret of a successful beat officer. The public need to be reassured that you're out there doing your job."