THE sensory garden at Swindon train station has been replaced with a new team of transport police officers charged with manning the Wiltshire rail network seven days a week.

Officially opened last Wednesday by British Transport Police Chief Constable Paul Crowther, the team will operate out of two new fully equipped offices, one replacing the former garden.

The move has been made to allow for increased availability of officers and quicker response times to incidents arising not only in Swindon, but also the wider area of Wiltshire and south Somerset, on the rail network.

The station was previously covered by BTP officers based at Reading and Bath, which meant long response times for officers reacting to incidents at Swindon.

Superintendent Matt Allingham, commander of BTP’s Western sub-division, said: “Swindon sits at a key location between Bath and Reading, along a very busy First Great Western route connecting London with the west of England and Wales.

“This new post will help us reassure passengers and allow us to provide a visible, proactive policing presence at stations and on trains. This means we can keep disruption to a minimum and keep services through Swindon running smoothly.

“BTP places a huge emphasis on working within the community with our partners like First Great Western, so I am delighted we have been able to strengthen our relationship in this way.

“As a force we are committed to reducing crime and disruption on the railway and increasing passenger confidence.

This new policing post at Swindon will be a big step in the right direction.”

Paula Durrans, head of security for First Great Western, added: “While total crime across our network continues to fall year-on-year as passenger numbers continue to rise, we very much welcome the BTP to Swindon and look forward to continuing our work with them to maintain the security of our stations and on board our trains.”

The company also moved to assure people the environment of the station would be maintained in the future despite the loss of the garden.

A spokesman for First Great Western said: “To make way for further improvements at the station, including the return of the British Transport Police to an on-site location, it has not been possible to maintain the sensory garden at its current location.

"Recognising the role that rail plays to the local community and to the economy, we will continue to work to ensure that the station remains a bright and inviting environment.”