Cheshire Police budget cuts 'worse than expected'

The chair of Cheshire Police Authority said the force will have fewer officers

The amount of money Cheshire Police will receive from the government over the next two years is worse than expected, the force has said.

The force will have to cut is budget by £24m following the government grant announcement.

"This is worse than the figures announced in the Spending Review in October," said Police Authority chair Margaret Ollerenshaw.

She said the force also had to cut its budget by 20% over the next four years.

Job cuts

She added that Cheshire was already a "low cost" force.

The force had already planned £7m savings this year through a combination of reduced recruitment, cutting staff jobs and better procurement of kit.

"It is too early to say how many jobs will have to be cut in order to meet the coalition government's cuts," said Mrs Ollerenshaw.

"But it is clear there will be considerably fewer police officers in the future," she added.