Police plans to keep criminals from climbing over a police station fence have been sent back to the drawing board.

The police had applied for planning permission to replace a two-metre high fence around a compound at Witham police station in Newland Street with one of 2.4 metres high.

The police said criminals had been climbing over the old fence and tampering with evidence being kept there, such as cars that had been seized.

The application had the approval of Witham Town Council and district council planning officers.

But members of Braintree Council's Witham area committee asked the police to come back with a new design.

A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: "We've come up with a compromise where instead of the less attractive revolving spikes we would have more conventional straighter spikes."

Published Monday, January 13, 2003

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