Lord Dholakia out on the campaign trail in Totnes

9.54.35am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 20th Apr 2005

Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Lord Dholakia, joined Totnes Parliamentary Candidate, Mike Treleaven for visits to Kingsbridge Community College and the Totnes Police yesterday.

During the visit to Kingsbridge Community College they met staff and students and took part in a question and answer session with 6th. form and year 10 pupils.

Commenting on the visit Lord Dholakia said:

' Kingsbridge Community College is a wonderful school with a fantastic atmosphere. It is important that we engage young people in the political process and I was very impressed with the confidence and knowledge of the students as they asked searching questions on topics ranging from environmental protection to rural transport.'

In Totnes they met Sergeant Steve Hopper and walked through the town discussing the problems facing the police today.

After the visit Mike Treleaven said:

'We need more policemen such as Steve Hopper out on the beat talking to people and dealing with local problems. Vandalism, the yob culture and under age drinking are issues which are best dealt with by having police out on our streets. Unfortunately bureaucracy, insufficient manpower and lack of modern technology mean that our police are unable to deal with these problems effectively. Increasing the number of police and providing them with modern equipment will put officers out on the beat, where we need them and where they want to be.'