Police in Pewsey have a new weapon against crime – an electric powered bicycle.

The Neighbourhood Policing Team was given the bike at the end of last month and has been using it to travel around the villages near Pewsey.

The aim of the new bike is to improve police visibility.

Sergeant Vincent Logue said: “It too early to say what the community think of it but we’ve put a picture on our Facebook page and it’s got a few likes.

“At the moment we’re just sticking with the one bike but we’ll see how it goes.”

A throttle on the handle bar activates the battery which goes from level one to five, depending on how much assistance officers want with pedalling. PCSO Melissa Camilleri was the first to patrol using the new bike which can be electrically powered for 50 miles.

Sgt Logue said: “It’s very easy to use.

Everybody at the station has given it a go but it’s just Melissa Camilleria and Joe Sadd who have taking out on patrol so far, Joe has used it a lot.”

It has been a welcome addition to the team with five officers previously using two cars to cover more than 400 square miles.

Sgt Logue said: “This bike will allow us to increase patrols of the villages, but allows more accessibility to our community than a car would.

“Until now, cars have been the only practical way of patrolling the very large geographical area that my small team covers.

“I would encourage the community to stop and speak to officers they see on patrol, whether on a bicycle, on foot or in cars as we want to know about issues, criminality and anti-social behaviour that affects them locally.”