A FURIOUS mother says lives could be lost because of the "frighteningly inefficient" Petersfield and Whitehill police merger after her severely epileptic son was assaulted at a bus stop.

The controversial merger took place last year, despite a massive outcry from the public.

Nearly 500 people packed the Festival Hall in Petersfield for a public showdown with Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan, but he was adamant there would be no u-turn.

The merger took effect from February 2, 2004, and from that date all response officers for Whitehill and Petersfield began and ended their duties at Whitehill.

Inspector Jerry Thorne took charge of the new Longmoor sector based at Whitehill, while Petersfield lost its inspector Steve Sergeant.

Pamela Trenchard, from Ramsdean, is "aghast" at the way in which her enquiry was dealt with after she tried to access the Hampshire Constabulary switchboard to avoid clogging up the 999 emergency service.

She added it was fortunate her son, Ian, did not suffer a life-threatening fit as a result of the problems she encountered.

Ian Trenchard was waiting for a bus near his home in East Meon when, he claimed, he was attacked.

He travelled to Petersfield to report the incident but on arrival had become agitated and was advised to go home where, he was told, a police officer would visit to interview him that evening.

But when his mother, a qualified nurse, called the central police switchboard from work, she was greeted by what she described as a "condescending" operator who said no report of the incident had been made.

Mrs Trenchard told The Herald: "I asked the person at the centre to give me some details about when they may come out to speak to my son.

"I was told then that they had nothing on record. They said nothing had been reported. "I said I was really surprised that they did not have a record as my son was extremely upset and had been to see the police.

"I had to leave my work, get in my car and speak to the police in Petersfield who rang Whitehill to find out what was happening. That was all before I could get to my son who was panicking and in dire need. I needed to be there with him.

"I did not want to dial 999 for something which was not an emergency, so I called the 0845 number the next day (Thursday) and asked to be put through to Whitehill police station to talk to the people who had taken on my son's case.

"The woman said, in a condescending manner, 'that was not the way it worked'. She said if I wanted a particular police officer, the system would not allow it."

Mrs Trenchard praised Longmoor division police officers. She said they were being unfairly blamed for the centralised system's failures.

She added: "How do you contact the right police department when it is not an emergency? The only difference I can see is that the system has changed.

"I fear, in future, lives could be lost because of it," said Mrs Trenchard.

"It is because of these frighteningly inefficient changes that this whole affair has happened.

"I just feel for the people in this area who may not have the knowledge I now have.

"The only alternative, it seems, is to call 999 which is already stretched. It should be so simple to lift up the phone and call the police.

"I want action and I want people to be aware of it. It is the ultimate abuse of the 999 system."

A police spokesman later told The Herald: "Any time a life is in danger, the police advise the public to call 999. If a life were in danger they should not call the 0845 number.

"999 calls are put straight through to force control which dispatches officers immediately. "The problems involved in this case are nothing to do with the merger or a life being in danger.

"All Mrs Trenchard had to do was quote the incident number and the officer. If you have that information, you can find the sergeant who would be aware of the case."

Inspector Jerry Thorne of the Longmoor division said an error with a new police computer system had resulted in a delay.

"The error on RMS did not change the police response," said Inspector Thorne.

"The problems encountered here are absolutely nothing to do with the merger."