It looks as if people power has won the day in Wiltshire with not one but two bodies forced to overturn ridiculous decisions.

First new chief constable Brian Moore has moved to reverse the massive PR own goal hatched by his predecessor Martin Richards and announced he will re-open three police stations to the public.

The public will once again be able to speak to real people in stations at Chippenham, Marlborough and Trowbridge instead of having to hang around outside trying to get someone to answer the nasty yellow phones the police have stuck outside.

The stated reason for doing this is because of the number of people who have been left hanging on those phones trying to get through.

I wouldn't mind betting that the real reason is a rapid decrease in the number of people coming forward to report crimes or with witness information.

The rubbish nature of the switchboard systems (which asks you to dial the seven-digit number of the person you are trying to speak to - as if you would have that to hand) means it is easier to get through to Richard and Judy's You Say We Pay than a policeman.

Just this week we had an inquest report in which a woman in Corsham tried to report her husband's disappearance. Three times she was left hanging in a void of static and eventually resorted to dialling 999. What kind of public service is that?

Credit to Mr Moore, he has recognised the harm this has done to the public perception of the police, all for the sake of a few thousand pounds, and has acted to redress the situation.

Now he has to work out how to redeploy all those ex-front office staff who were banished to the switchboard or bring back those who were made redundant.

The other piece of people power appears to have worked its magic with the threatened beds at Chippenham Hospital.

The Wiltshire PCT (which stands for Patients Come Third) spent the best part of three years consulting on a plan to reduce Chippenham Hospital's beds from 43 to 30. The public railled against its en masse so the PCT naturally responded to this outcry by deciding to axe even more beds, leaving just ten.

But the 11,000-signature begun by the Gazette, a massive letter-writing campaign, a hospital workers' march and a public meeting (which the PCT ducked) finally seem to have got through.

GP Dr Nick Brown was told at a meeting today there would be "an announcement" about the beds decision on Tuesday. The rumour seems to be that the PCT has managed to persuade the RUH at Bath to take over ten beds in Chippenham.

It is still not the 43 beds the town so obviusly needs but it is a step in the right direction.

All we need now is for those buffoons at the Post Office to reconsider shutting all our Post Offices...