CALLINGTON police station enquiry office is one of 34 in Devon and Cornwall to close next year in a cost-cutting exercise.

There are fears that this is 'just the thin end of the wedge' as the force battles to make savings of £47-million over the next four years.

Police said that with new methods of contacting the police, including on-line crime reporting, police surgeries and a dedicated appointments system for victims of crime, there had been a significant reduction in the number of people visiting station enquiry offices.

But member of Callington town council and former special constable Jeremy Gist said this week that closing the 'front desks' of the police station was like closing down the public interface.

Three of the four police stations in the East Cornwall Division will now be closed to the public with only Liskeard remaining open.

'I very much regret the withdrawal of this service – people are not happy about this,' said Cllr Gist.

'We thought we might be guaranteed at least three days, but now it will close, full stop.

'There are still many people who do not want to use the internet or the 0845 number to contact the police and much information and intelligence is shared at the station enquiry desk.

'This local link and local knowledge will be lost.'

Cornwall councillor Andrew Long agreed, saying the move went against the Government's localism agenda and was 'a retrograde step'.

He said: 'Devon and Cornwall police seem to be getting more centralised with less local services. Police station staff have enough to deal with without all the extra hassle this is going to create.

'I would urge them to think again and ensure the close links we have with local police officers is maintained by keeping the police station open.'

A statement from Devon and Cornwall police this week said that 23 of its 57 station enquiry offices would remain open.

'Taking into account our recent public consultation, the need to modernise our service and budgetary reduction requirements, we have made a decision, supported by the police authority, to open at times that better suit our communities and close a number of enquiry offices where demand was at its lowest,' the spokesman said.

'It is extremely rare for an emergency incident to be reported via a police station; any individual outside a station in an emergency situation will be dealt with immediately.'

The public will still have access to wall phones outside police stations which give them direct access to control rooms at Exeter and Plymouth.

A total of 59 out of 119 station enquiry officers will lose their jobs from April next year.

Sector inspector for East Cornwall, Martin Williams, said the footfall was relatively small at Callington, but it was not an exact science.

'On average there are two or three people coming in a day, but it is like a doctor's surgery, sometimes there is no-one much for a couple of days then ten come in the next day.'

Inspector Williams said he was not comfortable with three out of his four enquiry desks being closed to the public, but making savings of £47-million in a small organisation was not easy.

'There are 700 police officers and 375 support staff going over the next four years across the constabulary and this is also going to impact on the service,' he said.

'There will be cuts to response teams but there will still be officers based at local police stations, so I want to assure people that there will still be police in East Cornwall, they will not all be operating from a central hub in Plymouth.'