FOUR police cars were scrambled after a resident complained about local policing, to an officer who was delivering leaflets.

The incident last Tuesday night, in Maran Avenue, Welwyn, happened when a constable was out letting residents know about a new police surgery in the area.

Hertfordshire Police was accused of a “heavy-handed” response after the additional officers flooded the scene.

Police say the officer was delivering leaflets and the resident had some “grievances about local policing that he wanted to air”.

The officer then radioed for back-up as “he was on his own”. Another resident said the situation was “kicking off” but no arrests were made and police said the incident had “calmed down” before the back-up arrived.

A spokesman for campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “This seems to be a disproportionate response to what sounds like a relatively minor incident. At a time when police resources and finances are under pressure, taxpayers want police out catching serious criminals, not intimidating residents with what appears to be unnecessarily heavy-handed behaviour.”

A police spokeswoman said: “What happened was a local officer was delivering leaflets and got into a heated discussion with a resident and asked for some assistance.”