THE Tri-Service Safety Officer for Bude, Adam Chapman, gave a brief update to councillors at the latest full Bude-Stratton Town Council meeting on Thursday, September 6.

Adam spoke about the challenges facing the town’s emergency services during the summer, which sees the population of Bude dramatically increase due to tourism.

Starting with the fire service, Adam mentioned about how the dry summer had led to a rise in ground fires, the town carnival and the barbecue that went on for the whole day and the festivities at the castle, which he deemed a roaring success.

He also said: “We held the Bude Open Day to the public. There was no sun so there wasn’t quite the participation we’d hoped for, but we’re still having lots of positive engagement with locals and tourists.”

He then moved onto police matters, saying: “Again, demand goes up in the summer as there’s a large rise in population.

“However, there’s been a lot of anti-social behaviour going on with youth and we’re trying to control it.

“We’re working with the council and area manager on this to put diversion activities in place. There are positive things going on in Bude and we’re speaking to local businesses to get them involved.

“Unfortunately there have been a few vehicle break-ins recently. I can’t touch on it too much as it’s an ongoing investigation.

“There have also been 28 ambulance calls in the last two months as well as us doing lots of domestic risk visits.

“Again in the summer the ambulance service sees a higher demand as tourism means we see a rise in population, but they’ve handled it well.”

Adam then went on to take questions with Cllr Francis Richens going first.

He said: “I’ve been going around knocking on doors. On the estate behind Morrisons there are a lot of boys going around on bikes. Some say it’s like hell on earth. Has this come to your attention?”

Adam replied: “There are a few areas but I can assure you it’s being looked at. There are a couple of hotspot areas and we’ll be dealing with them appropriately.”

Cllr Peter La Broy, who is the Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor for Bude, said: “Thanks for coming. I’m interested in my Cornwall Council role. You mentioned about work escalation in the summer, how much has your work rate risen?”

Adam said: “It’s noticed by all three services it rises in summer. It’s statistically proven it goes up but I’m not sure exactly. The challenges come with tourism and the increase in population.”

Mayor Bob Willingham then asked about how a couple of incidents were dealt with at the recent Bude Carnival.

Adam said: “One is an ongoing investigation and I’m not sure of the outcome of the other one.

“The issues were dealt with on the day effectively by officers.”

Adam thanked by the councillors for his time.