Break-in village's 3-day cop wait.

SHOCKED villagers who reported an attempted break-in were told it would take three days for police to come out.

Residents of Dalavich in rural Argyll believe they were left vulnerable when their community constable went on holiday.

And when they phoned a cop call centre in Glasgow to ask for help lastMonday, they were told nobody would be available until Thursday.

The break-in attempt at a social club was reported to Strathclyde Police when the alarmwent off twice.

Jas Duffy, chairman of Dalavich Social Club, said: "There were marks on the door where they had prised a jemmy and there were wood shavings on the floor.

"It was ridiculous to say that there wasn't anyone available until Thursday."

Councillor Elaine Robertson reported the incident to police in Oban on Tuesday.

She said: "They said they did have someone on duty on Monday night who could have checked the incident.

"There are queries on the competence of people at a call centre in Glasgow to make decisions without local advice."

Community councillor Marilyn Henderson said: "This has left some people frightened."

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said the club secretary, who called them, agreed that police would "attend at a later time".

She said they had been experiencing a high level of calls due to the bad weather.