THE police office in Charlbury is closing next week.

Last year Thames Valley Police said their current premises in Chipping Norton, Woodstock and Charlbury would close in favour of “more efficient” buildings.

The Charlbury office, at the Spendlove Centre, in Enstone Road was run by volunteers, but the rent cost the force £14,000 a year. The office will close on Monday, March 31, when the lease runs out.

In a message sent out on the force’s Community Alerts system, Charlbury PCSO Wesley Smith said: “This year the police post would have been open for 10 years.

“I’d like to say thanks to the volunteers who spared their time — without them it would have closed long ago.”

The office currently opens for three hours a day on Monday and Friday and two hours on the first Saturday of the month.

A counter service run at the Corner House centre every Monday between noon and 3pm replaces it.