The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset has received £266,357 after making two successful bids to the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund.

The money will also pay to expand the Dorset Bobby Van scheme, which was launched earlier this year to provide home security to vulnerable victims of burglary.

Under the existing service, a security operative is able to visit victims in a especially liveried van, passing on advice about security measures and installing devices including new door and window locks free of charge.

The new funding will pay for a second van and operative to increase availability across the county, with a specific initial focus on targeting vulnerable residents in the two areas of Bournemouth.

It will also fund awareness raising campaigns in both areas, encouraging residents to secure their properties.

And the funding will be used to create up to three Neighbourhood Watch Schemes – which are known to reduce crime rates – in each area.

Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill said, “Our bobby van has already made a difference to a lot of peoples’ lives, and has proved so popular it is working at capacity, so a second van providing enhanced security measures to homes is a real result.

“I’m confident that the combination of these measures will enable Dorset Police and our other partners to reduce crime across both of these areas in a sustainable way, and I want to thank the members of my team who have made this possible.”