THE public have little confidence in Cheshire Police despite the force's "good" record on solving crime and service delivery, a national report has found.

Overall, Cheshire Police is meeting standards, but the new Police Report Card issued today by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), said public confidence was "poor".

However, Cheshire Police has disputed the HMIC's findings. It says its own survey of 4,000 residents returned 65 per cent satisfaction levels.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett, pictured below, said: "Direct feedback from those people who call us indicates victims and witnesses are pleased with the service they receive from us. When our performance in this area is compared at a national level we are second highest in the country for satisfaction with the service we deliver.

"A survey of victims and witnesses in Cheshire has also showed that 90 per cent of them were satisfied with the service from Cheshire's Criminal Justice Services."

The HMIC report did find that the force is good at solving crimes, suppressing gun crime and delivering its services. It also received a fair rating on protecting the public and general policing.

Police Authority chairman Margaret Ollerenshaw said: "The Constabulary's performance on crime speaks for itself – recorded crime is at its lowest in the last 10 years.

"HMIC ranks the performance of the Constabulary as having a high knife crime rate but we know that reflects changes in counting rules adopted as part of the robust approach to recording crime.

"HMIC have highlighted reducing death and injury on Cheshire's roads as an area that is showing a decline in performance. However, last year's figures show a reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured."