SEVEN Gwent Police stations including Maindee, Chepstow, Pontypool and Monmouth are to reopen five days a week to the public from today.

The other stations reopening are Risca, Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach.

Previously these stations were either closed or had limited opening hours.

This comes after a meeting of the Gwent Police and Crime panel in January, when Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gwent Ian Johnston announced the decision.

A spokeswoman for Gwent Police said it was “as a result of feedback from the public and following consultation with Local Authorities and the Chief Constable”.

These stations will all now open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

Two stations in Blaenau Gwent will also see increased opening hours, Abertillery and Brynmawr.

Brynmawr station will now be open Monday to Wednesday from 9am to 5pm, while Abertillery station will now be open Thursday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

The opening hours will be reviewed after one year, with police taking into consideration how often members of the public visit the stations.

PCC Ian Johnston, said: “The closure of Police Stations and accessibility to them has been high on the agenda for many of our communities. Acting on direct feedback I’ve received from members of the public I’m delighted to announce the opening of an additional seven front counter services at police stations across Gwent from today and the extended opening hours of a number of other stations.”

The Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Jeff Farrar, said: “We will be maintaining our existing five front counters which have remained operational over the last couple of years, meaning that the public will be able to call in at a total of fourteen police stations in Gwent.”

Mr Farrar added: "We will be evaluating the success of this over the coming year to ensure we are making the best use of resources. Our wider face-to-face engagement work with the public will continue to be complemented by regular and pre-advertised police surgeries at other police stations across the force, as well as in partner and public facilities, and using our five mobile police stations.”