Police traffic officers will no longer patrol large sections of the M40 motorway as part of a drastic campaign to cut fuel bills, the Oxford Mail can exclusively reveal, write Andrew Ffrench.

A leaked memo from Thames Valley Police's regional traffic Inspector, Dave Wood, tells officers they can save petrol by limiting their patrols to between Wheatley and Ardley, junctions eight to ten.

This will mean a 40-mile round trip, instead of the 120-mile round trip from Stokenchurch to the Warwickshire border.

Officers have also been advised not to provide back-up at injury accidents unless they are serious or fatal. And they could face disciplinary action if they regularly clock up high mileages on patrol.

Ordering his officers to implement a whole list of petrol-saving measures immediately, Insp Wood - who is based at Witney - tells them he does not agree with his boss, Supt Norman Bartlett, that the measures are necessary because of an overspend and "poor budget management".

The memo adds: "I appreciate the steps taken so far to curtail our mileage. However, more drastic steps must now be taken."

Conservative county councillor Dickie Dawes said he was "astonished" by the leaked memo. "I am concerned about public safety. If there is a road accident, however minor, you want the experts to attend and that is the traffic officers. "One of the county council's key aims is to reduce casualty accidents on the road by 30 per cent.

"If information about these accidents is not being gathered properly by the experts, we won't know which roads should be chosen for new safety measures."

The memo was issued to officers after liaison between Supt Bartlett, head of Thames Valley's traffic department, and Insp Wood.

Supt Bartlett told the Oxford Mail: "There is no risk to public safety as the police will continue to attend accidents. The public will continue to receive the high level of service they expect from Thames Valley Police. "All this document represents is a more prudent use of valuable police resources. This new focused approach will lead to an improved service, as it will mean resources are targeted where they are most needed."

*A 28-year-old east Oxford man died and two others were hurt when their car flipped over between junctions three and four of the M40 early today.

It is not known whether the dead man, who has not been identified, was the driver. Any witnesses are asked to call Amersham traffic base on 01494 736723.

Story date: Thursday 02 December

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