OPERATIONAL demands have forced Whitehill Police Station to temporarily cut its opening hours during the week.
The previous opening hours of 8 am to 4 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and noon to 8 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, have been replaced with a new 9 am to 1 pm schedule every weekday.
Inspector Gerry Thorne said that officers should also be available between 6 pm and 8 pm to talk to members of the public but he urged them to contact the police station before hand.
Weekend opening hours will be unaffected by the changes.
Inspector Thorne said: "This is only a temporary measure and hopefully at around the end of September we will be able to revert to the old opening hours or maybe even increase them.
"Officers are doing their best to make sure that they are available and we are just asking people to ring and confirm that someone will be there so that they do not have a wasted journey."
Whitehill Police Station can be contacted on 0845 045 45 45.