CRIME will be a key issue on which the Liberal Democrats will contest the Warrington South seat in the next General Election, the party has indicated.

Prospective parliamentary candidate Dr Jo Crotty has accused Labour of failing to reassure people about crime rates and prison overcrowding and believes her party can do better.

"Our surveys show that people in Warrington are very concerned about crime but are fed up with Labour's tough posturing and failed promises," she said.

"People are also concerned about the need to have more police officers and prefer to use the money Labour plans to waste on identity cards on employing more police instead."

Dr Crotty, who was announced in January as the Lib Dem's candidate to challenge Warrington South's incumbent Labour MP, Helen Southworth, said the Government had also messed up the prison system.

"Under Labour, too many people go to prison, get released early and go on to re-offend," she said.

"Liberal Democrats will break that cycle by greatly expanding prison training schemes.We will ensure more people leave prison having served their proper sentence as people with marketable skills who are a benefit to society rather than as people who go straight back into a life of crime."