A NEW force of pop-up police officers has been deployed across parts of West Fife.

The recruits will be on duty for four hours at a time throughout North Queensferry, Inverkeithing, Dalgety Bay and Aberdour.

It is hoped that by the time drivers realise the officers standing at the side of the road are cut-outs, they will have already reduced their speed.

The deterrents will be used in areas where speeding is an issue.

Councillor David Barratt, who alongside Cllr Sarah Neal has taken on responsibility for managing the use of the pop-up police, told the Press: "It's been discussed over a few months – in fact, years – with community councils and the pandemic kind of got in the way of getting it actioned.

"They are a popular instrument if residents are complaining about speed, the police don't have the resources to be out all the time.

"Sometimes deploying these in a mixture of doing other things – if you can get the pop-up police out and mix that in with actual police then I think we've got a good chance of actually tackling problem areas."

The 'officers' were printed by Police Scotland at a cost of £80 each and were funded by Fife Council.

Cllr Barratt and Cllr Neal are on the hunt for volunteers to help put up and take down the cut-outs in four-hour intervals.

Anyone willing to help should contact them directly.