Two Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) police wards are short-staffed, it has emerged.

Inspector Jack Rainey, who heads SNTs in the north west of Redbridge, told an Area Two Committee meeting last night that both the Roding and Monkhams areas of Woodford Green currently only have one dedicated officer each, instead of the usual two.

One officer in Roding ward is absent while carrying out research work and the other in Monkhams has been off sick for a month, and is expected to be away long-term.

But Insp. Rainey said: "while we are understaffed we are getting two new female officers [for the wards] who will start on July 3".