Plastic PCs shamed by great gran

Great gran Ann Ward said she was forced to rush in and help while the PCSOs - nicknamed plastic bobbies due to their lack of training - did absolutely nothing.

Today angry Mrs Ward said: "It was disgusting - any other men would have stepped in to help. They should be called mobile clerks, not police.

"They looked like they just could not be bothered.

"They said they were there just to report the crime to the police and take notes."

The 59-year-old said the attack victim was cowering on the ground as the girls hit him and tried to steal his bag in Ravensbury Park, Morden. She said: "They kept punching him and pulling on his bag.

"They were hitting him across the back of the head with a stick. He was sat on the floor and I heard him calling out, 'Help! Don't do that!'." Mrs Ward said the PCSOs had actually radioed for help but did not attempt to tackle the girls, who ran off.

She said: "I said a lot of unprintable things to them. I asked them if that uniform diminishes their responsibilities as men."

She has complained to the Metropolitan Police, which has launched an investigation.

Mrs Ward said she has spoken to the man, named locally as 55-year-old Philip Shaw, and says he suffered bruising, cuts to his nose and around his eye and a broken finger.

This comes just weeks after an inquest heard how two PCSOs looked on while a 10-year-old boy drowned in a pond in Wigan in May because they "did not have the right training".

By the time a regular police officer arrived at the scene it was too late to save schoolboy Jordon Lyon who had jumped into the water after his eight-year-old stepsister Bethany got into difficulties.

The conduct of the pair caused a national outcry against the limitations of the PCSO scheme.

Today a spokeswoman for the Met said: "We can confirm that at approximately 3.10pm on 29 October a 55-year-old man was attacked by three teenagers in Ravensbury Park, Merton.

"Two females were arrested in connection with the incident. Shortly after a third female handed herself in. They have all been bailed to return in December."

She confirmed that a complaint had been made and that the Met was investigating, but did not comment on whether the two PCSOs had been suspended. The community-support officers receive as little-as three weeks' training, compared with 18 for regular constables.

The row comes as new figures showed more than £1,300 was spent on advertising and marketing for each officer. In total, £3,311,164 was spent on recruitment advertising for PCSO posts in the year 2006-7.

In that period 2,500 officers were signed up to work in London. The Met said advertising was essential to recruit the right people.