POLICE have rolled out 17 state-of-the-art vans to back up neighbourhood policing in the Thames Valley.

The Vauxhall Vivaro vans have a foldaway desk, laptop power point and air conditioning, allowing the teams to set up mini police offices on the road and get out and about in towns and villages.

Converted for police use by Kinetic Special Vehicles, the vehicles also have a cycle rack and a containment cell at the rear for transporting detainees.

Force fleet operations managerm Dave McDonaldm oversaw the design process. He said: "The whole concept behind these vans is the maximisation of flexibility.

"One minute they can be used as a response car, the next they can be used as a temporary policing base for officers visiting villages in the county. They are ideal for neighbourhood policing."

Bicester-based PCSO Ben Hughes-Martin added: "The fact we will be able to drive to a neighbourhood, park up, get our bikes out and patrol means we are more mobile than ever before.

"If we need to travel long distances, we have that capability. If we need to get anywhere locally once we arrive, we have the bikes to help us do that, and if anyone is detained by officers, we can take them to custody in the vehicle."

Christine Weston, chairman of Thames Valley Police Authority, said: "This is our Christmas present to the public of the Thames Valley.

"Neighbourhood policing will form the central plank of our strategy over the forthcoming years, and the fact we have spent nearly £340,000 on these vehicles is evidence of our determination to make neighbourhood policing work.

"They will allow PCs and PCSOs to visit the communities they serve, and work with them there and then - these are the principles driving neighbourhood policing in Thames Valley."

The vans cost about £20,000, will travel up to 20,000 miles a year and are expected to have a six-year life.