POLICE officers have been barred from walking onto the grounds of a Trowbridge secondary school unless they sign in at reception first.

Staff at John of Gaunt School have instructed officers to alert staff to their actions before walking onto school grounds in future.

Labelled as an "over-the-top" security measure, the stringent policy is in direct contradiction to policies enforced at other Trowbridge schools, where uniformed officers can walk on site at all times without having to sign in.

Act Insp Martin Scorah told Trowbridge town councillors he "questioned" the policy and failed to see a problem with uniformed officers, including community support officers, making drop-in style visits to school grounds during lunchtimes.

Trowbridge town councillor Tom James said he believed the school had taken the security issue too far, in an age where drugs and alcohol plague schools in both rural and urban areas.

He said: "The idea of the officers going on site during lunchtimes is so they can mingle with the youths and they get on well.

"The officers should be made to feel welcome, with drugs and alcohol in schools and all the other pressures. At John of Gaunt they don't take that view.

"It is a shame. I think it is taking it too far. They are talking about ID issues but these officers have a uniform on and ID badges. They should be as safe as possible.

"It is over the top. We don't want people to be scared of the uniform."

The controversial restriction on police officers is the latest Wiltshire school security policy to be put under scrutiny.

At Calne's Holy Trinity Primary School parents were banned from filming their children during sports day a decision that caused uproar.

John of Gaunt deputy head Roger Gilbert said he had no idea why other schools operated different policies but stressed the system was enforced to protect pupils.

"Every visitor that comes on to the school site we get them to register for health and safety purposes," he said.

"The same goes for any visitor regardless of whether they are the police or whoever. There are all sorts of reasons we need to do this.

"The police are welcome at any time and they would report to reception under normal circumstances."