A cut in police funding must not attack front line services, police federation chiefs said today.

Chancellor George Osborne yesterday announced that police spending would fall by four per cent each year of the spending settlement – cutting the Government funding by a fifth in real terms over the next four years.

He said they would aim to avoid any reduction in the visibility and availability of police on the streets.

By 2014/15, the Home Office will reduce overall resource spending by 23 per cent in real terms and capital spending by 49 per cent in real terms, it was announced.

It comes just months after West Mercia Police chiefs revealed they would be axing nearly 300 jobs in a bid to save nearly £10million. Police Federation chiefs said any funding cuts affecting police officers would affect front line services.

Andy White, chairman of the Police Federation, said: “We have always known that this has been coming.

“The sad part of it is that we have carried out an internal audit of where all our resources are and what makes up all of our departments and quite clearly we will always be against any cuts to police officers.

“Any cuts to police officers will undoubtedly impact on the front line.”

Councillor Kuldip Sahota, chairman of the Telford & Wrekin Policing Board of West Mercia Police Authority, said yesterday’s news was not a shock but the full impact would not be known until the new year when the local budget was done.

He said: “We have to look at it in the budget when we decide after Christmas how it will affect the front line services, especially the police on the streets.”

He has written to all 20 town and parish councils in Telford and Wrekin to ask for their views on borough policing teams. He said some had already replied and he was collating the information to find out what residents valued the most.

In a statement last night West Mercia Police Chief Constable Paul West said: “We will not have absolute clarity about what today’s headline news means until we are given West Mercia’s specific position in December. It is therefore difficult to comment on the impact of the reductions at this early stage.

“The cuts announced today represent a significant challenge for the force, however we always seek to deliver the best possible service for the people of West Mercia and will continue to do so.

Sheila Blagg, chairman of the West Mercia Police Authority, said: “We knew policing would not be immune from budget reductions. In delivering these savings we will be working with the Chief Constable to ensure, so far as possible, that the impact on services is kept to a minimum.

“We do, however, need to see how these headline figures translate into our local budget position. Our police officers and police staff do a fantastic job and have our total support. It is with their help we can continue to cut out waste and focus on delivering high levels of service.”

Home Secretary Theresa May said: “I believe that by improving efficiency, driving out waste and increasing productivity we can maintain a strong police service, a secure border and effective counter terrorism capabilities whilst delivering significant savings.”

The Treasury said: “We will end central bureaucracy and targets, such as the Policing Pledge, reduce the reporting requirements for stop and search and scrap the ‘stop’ form in its entirety. We will also modernise pay and conditions.”