‘Least used’ police station hunts record

A PLACE in the Guinness World Records is being sought for a Northern Ireland police station - as the least used in any city.

Human rights lobby group the Pat Finucane Centre yesterday revealed it has put the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Rosemount base in Derry forward for the award, as part of its campaign to have the base shut down.

PSNI district commander Richard Russell confirmed at the last meeting of the District Policing Partnership in Derry that only 12 people had visited the station between October 2003 and October 2004.

It was also revealed that it cost in the region of €400,000 a year to keep the station open from 9am to 4pm every day.

Residents of the Lower Creggan and Rosemount areas have long been campaigning for the removal of a 100ft-high surveillance mast inside Rosemount - one of only two PSNI bases in Derry’s West Bank area.

A Pat Finucane Centre spokesman said: “At present health and education boards are struggling to find funding for things that we really need - special needs education, more beds in hospitals, the list goes on.”

The PSNI said closure of Rosemount was “under consideration”.

Guinness World Records researchers will take five to six weeks to decide whether the base gets its listing.