West Midlands Police may cut up to 2,250 posts

West Midlands Police could cut up to 2,250 jobs from the force, the chief constable has warned.

Chris Sims was speaking at a police authority meeting where he said the force needed to make savings of £123m over the next four years.

He added he was waiting for spending review figures before finalising anything but said the force needed to be prepared for large cuts.

The Police Federation warned earlier this month of large job cuts in the UK.

At the meeting, the authority also approved in principle to implementing measures which force police officers to retire after 30 years.

'Serious impact'

The measures, known as A19 measures, enforce compulsory retirement on efficiency grounds.

If A19 is implemented, it would affect 480 officers over four years.

Andy Gilbert, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, said he was hopeful the job losses would not be as many as 2,250.

"It is going to have a serious impact because these are very talented people," he said.

"Of course, the chances are we are going to lose some of our police staff who do a very important job.

"These jobs are still going to have to be done by somebody," he added.