TOWN leaders have slammed council bosses for giving the go-ahead to a detention centre in Middlewich.

They claim the lack of public transport in the town has been overlooked - especially when the decision to grant permission for the police custody suite at Pochin Way was swayed by just one vote.

Middlewich Town Council unanimously called for the application to be thrown out the night before it went to the borough council because of poor public transport in the town and fears over released detainees being left to fend for themselves on the outskirts of the town.

But Congleton Borough Council's planning department gave the scheme out-line planning permission by one vote when it met last Tuesday night.

The detention centre, one of three being built in Cheshire, is expected to be in use in April 2005.

People to be detained overnight will be ferried in from Winsford, Northwich, Crewe, Wilmslow and Macclesfield to the cells in Middlewich in a scheme designed to allow police to get back out on patrol more quickly.

But town leaders including town and borough councillor Paul Edwards, who voted against the plan, fear people will be left wandering the streets when they are released.

He has called for Middlewich's long-awaited bypass to be in place before the police are allowed to move in.

'If we are stuck with it the police shouldn't be able to occupy it until we have the infrastructure in place - we have not got the links in the town to support it,' he said.

'A lot of councillors could see that Middlewich wasn't the best place for it, and we are stuck with the question of what to do with people who can't get home.

'It's only 300 yards from a housing estate and 250 yards from the Salt Cellar pub. The concern from residents is when they leave home they are going to be in fear of people stealing their cars to make their way home, because not everybody has family that can pick them up.'

Cllr Emma Brown added: 'The town is serviced poorly by taxis - and if they don't like going to do a pub run, they certainly won't want to go to the police.'

Police project manager Chief Inspector David Bertenshaw said: 'The transport issue is very important but we are not going to let this be a problem.

'The most serious offenders won't be granted bail, vulnerable people won't be let out on their own and the majority will get picked up by friends and family.'