FOUR new community police bases will be opened in Oxford, taking the number across the county to 24.

The offices are designed to keep neighbourhood officers as a visible presence in the villages, housing estates and areas they are policing.

New bases will open at Osney Court in west Oxford, Atkyns Road in Wood Farm and Westlands Drive in Northway.

The fourth will be at the Warneford Hospital, in Headington, where Police Community Support Officers (Pcsos) will replace the security guards. The cost of the base is being split between the police and the health trust.

The base at Westlands Road will be home to the Northway and Marston team.

Sgt Paula Wynn said: “We are very excited about having a base in the neighbourhood as it means we can spend more time here getting to know the people and issues in the community, and will not have to return to Cowley Police Station for small tasks.”

The Atkyns Road base will open once a room is refurbished and kitted out.

Sue Holden, of the Barton neighbourhood association, praised the estate’s police base for making residents feel safe, and cutting crime.

She said: “The statistics show crime is down and it is not a coincidence.

“The work the police do is more intense and confined to the area. Because they don’t have to go back to Cowley Police Station they are more in touch with people.

“It can’t be a bad thing when you speak to each other on first name terms.”