A journalism tutor has raised fears that the relationship between the police and the regional press could be eroded in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry.

Andrew Kelly, head of the London foundation course at Press Association Training, said it was essential that journalists continued to have access to police officers on the ground.

He said the “paranoid situation” created by the Leveson Inquiry into press standards could undermine the trust between the police and the regional press.

In his report, Lord Justice Leveson raised concerns about the relationship between the police and the press, including tip-offs, off-the-record briefings and “excessive proximity”.

Andrew made his comments after one of his students, Amelia Latham Wake, who is on PA’s Foundation Course in Multimedia Journalism, went on a dawn drugs raid with police in Hounslow.

He said such stories must continue despite the growing ranks of press officers and attempts to legislate against journalists.

Said Andrew: “I don’t think we’ve lost that essential relationship…yet. Reporters are still rubbing shoulders with police officers on the ground, sitting in vans at dawn waiting to carry out a raid as Amelia’s feature demonstrates so well.

“That relationship continues across the UK, in cities and towns throughout the country on a daily basis. It is an essential part of the democratic process.

“The public pay taxes that fund police officers who act on their behalf and in their name. The press report on these activities and inform the public of what is being carried out at their behest.

“This is a critical relationship that cannot and should not be eroded or negated by any parliamentary or judicial process.

“Reporters must act in the interests of the wider public and they need direct contact with authorities, particularly the police in order to do that. In order to question. In order to enjoy a relationship. In order to establish trust.

“The paranoid situation created by Leveson undermines this covenant of trust and damages the function of the regional press to inform its readers.”

In Amelia’s feature, which was published in the Hounslow Chronicle, she wrote about her 4am alarm call ahead of the police’s crackdown day on drug crime and how she was warmly welcomed by the police inspector leading the operation.

She wrote: “As a journalist, you are taught to look for the dirt, the chink in the armour, the string with which to unravel the story, but I couldn’t help but be utterly impressed by what I saw, from early morning briefing throughout a day of 33 warrants and a subsequent 20 arrests, there was a slickness and unshakeable structure in their work that was unquestionable.”