The first ever Virtual Community and Police Meeting (VCAP) will take place on the Whitby Gazette website on Wednesday.

Inspector Dave Barf, head of Whitby police, will be answering questions on-line as they come in.

Anyone with any concerns, questions, or general points they want to raise with the police can do so from the comfort of their own home.

The idea has come about after a disappointing turn-out at recent public meetings, with just 13 people in total at two recent policing meetings.

Insp Barf said: "I'm really excited at the prospect of the forthcoming 'Virtual' Community & Police Meeting.

"I'm really keen to engage with the communities of Whitby and the surrounding area and am truly interested in what you have to say.

"Some people don't like the formal setting of a public meeting or may not be able to make it out to the venue. The VCAP gives an opportunity to those people to interact with their police, raise issues which are affecting their neighbourhoods or just to ask a question around the law.

"If I can't answer the question at the time I will undertake to respond to you later.

"To the best of my knowledge this is the first time that anything like this has been attempted in North Yorkshire and it's my acknowledgement that the geography of the area and busy lifestyles make attending meetings in the evenings difficult. In addition to this some people who are housebound and rely on their computers for communication can also use this method.

"There is no intention to move away from the face to face community and police meetings. The VCAP, if successful, will simply be an addition to usual methods of communication.

"As we're at the point of reassessing policing priorities within the area it would be good if people could inform us of issues in their locality that they'd like to see us addressing."

Whitby Gazette editor Damian Holmes said: "We are delighted to get involved in a pioneering idea like this. We want as many people as possible to log on to our website and ask probing questions of Insp Barf. This is your chance to speak to the head of Whitby police directly and anyone who has any issues or concerns should take it."

Insp Barf is also keen on getting as many people involved as possible.

"Please, log in on your desktop or laptop at home. Lurk, ask a question or raise an issue. It'd be great to hear from you.

"For anyone who is still unable to make it the transcript of the VCAP will be available on the Whitby Gazette website after the event. If you do get to tune in and have any feedback please let me know at whitbydistrictsnt@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk or via 0845 6060247 ext 5510."