SALTCOATS Police Station was closed for a period of time on Thursday - but the public has been reassured that there are no long-term problems.

The top cop in the town said that everything was fine, but did apologise to those unable to utilise services last week. Around 2pm, the door was locked and members of the public were unable to gain access to the office.

One local woman told the Herald: “I was there for about 10 minutes and there was nobody there.

“One woman who was there phoned 101 and was told it was shut because of staffing issues.

“It is really ridiculous for a police force we rely on for safety.”

Inspector Brian Skimming has reassured residents that there is no staffing issues at Saltcoats.

He said: “Saltcoats Police Office has a public counter which is open from 8am-6pm every day.

“Police staff are deployed there to assist the public and under a national agreement for operation of the front office counters we have a one hour closure of this facility every day from 12.30- 1.30pm.

“On Thursday, due to an operational matter, we had a further closure of the public counter around about the usual lunchtime closure.

“This was quickly resolved and I would like to reassure the public that Police resourcing levels were at their normal level and that the day to day business and emergency call provision was unaffected and in place.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise to any members of the public who were inconvenienced on Thursday and thank them for their patience.”