A PART of the police service in Tavistock which has operated since the Victorian age will disappear next spring, when the station enquiry office closes.

Tavistock is one of 34 police stations in Devon and Cornwall being closed to the public – a move which will save the Devon and Cornwall Constabularly £5.4-million.

The force has to make savings of £47-million over the next four years and will be losing 700 police officers and more than 300 support staff as part of the cuts, 59 of whom are station enquiry officers.

Police sergeant at Tavistock Dave Anning said the news was very sad.

Sgt Anning said: 'All of us who work in the station will be very sad to see the station enquiry office go. It's been part of the service since everyone can remember.

'It's not only used for policing issues, it is where people go when they do not know who else to turn to. The SEOs (station enquiry officers) are almost part of the fabric of the building and do so many things which are over and above their job description and that has always been the case.

'Unfortunately this is just the start of many, many cuts that we are going to see.'

A statement from police headquarters said new methods of contacting the police, through police surgeries, on-line crime reporting and a dedicated appointment system for victims of crime, meant that there had been a significant reduction in the number of people visiting station enquiry offices.

Those that were closing were where demand was at its lowest.

Sgt Anning said Tavistock was not a quiet station and could be classed as busier than Okehampton, which was staying open, but he felt the decision was also based on geography.

'If they shut Okehampton, there would be nowhere between Exeter and Launceston and Barnstaple and Plymouth,' he said.

'I think the closure will be detrimental to Tavistock because there is a social work element attached to the station enquiry officers, who help a lot of vulnerable people and have a lot of local knowledge.'

He added that the police service had survived changes in the past, like the centralising of the force control rooms, but it was ambitious to try and provide a better service with 1,000 fewer people.

'It is just a case of trying to do our best with what we have got,' he said.

Police spokesman Superintendent Jim Meakin said the changes followed a review and public consultation in which the majority of people said they used the phone or email to contact the police.

He said: 'A lot of station enquiry offices are not used as much as they used to be and we have to modernise and move with the times. Ninety per cent of crimes are recorded on the phone.'

He said policing had changed and neighbourhood teams were more visible than they had ever been. Many other initiatives had also been started, like on-line crime reporting to make the system more efficient.

'There will still be telephones outside police stations so in emergencies there will be an immediate response, he said.

'We are not closing police stations and people will still see police officers and PCSOs walking around.'

County councillor for Tavistock, Debo Sellis said: 'My desire would be to have station enquiry offices open 24 hours a day. A lot of people do not have access to the internet and the police telephone answering service has had its share of problems. This service needs to be scrutinised so it can be as efficient as possible.

'It is very sad for Tavistock to lose the enquiry office but the country is in such crippling debt that I suppose cuts have to be made somewhere.'