The police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall Police has said he is ­‘horrified’ at the 25 per cent spending cuts to the police force.

Tony Hogg was responding to a leaked ­document that estimates 22,000 policing posts could be lost nationwide by 2020 if the Government goes ahead with a proposed 25 per cent spending cut.

‘We’ve been planning for budget reductions for a long time,’ said PCC Hogg. ‘We’ve also started to adjust our assumptions to prepare for the ­additional funding reductions that will be announced following the chancellor’s autumn statement.

‘On top of this, we were horrified to see that the Government is intending to further reduce ­policing resources through the implementation of a grossly unfair allocation formula.

‘Put all of these elements together and Devon and Cornwall Police will lose at least 1,200 staff over the next four years, and as many as half of these could be police officers.

‘Our one hope is that the Government accepts our argument for fair funding and changes its approach to allocation.

‘If we’re successful in achieving fair funding, these reductions could be greatly reduced.

‘Our fair-funding petition has received strong support from the people of Devon and Cornwall and will be presented in London later this month, where we shall ensure that this powerful message is properly heard.’

In August, Andrew White, chief executive in the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, said Devon and Cornwall could lose 200 more front-line police officers if the Government’s plans to change the way it funds forces go ahead.

PCC Hogg’s team scrutinised the Government’s proposed revisions to its allocation formula

for police funding. Based on the information ­provided so far, potential cuts to the money the Devon and Cornwall force receives centrally would be £11m a year.

‘If these proposals are implemented it would be a catastrophe,’ declared Mr White. ‘A further funding loss of £11m a year would mean there could be 200 fewer police officers, leading to ­poorer services and decreased public safety.

‘It’s crazy that the Government is missing the chance to redress the balance between rural and metropolitan police forces. Instead it’s exacerbating the problem.

‘Devon and Cornwall already receives far less funding than metropolitan forces. The proposals fail to recognise the additional strain placed on policing services through our high levels of tourism.

‘One in eight overnight stays are taken in Devon and Cornwall, and yet no account is taken of this.

‘This means the population figures on which our funding is based are, on average, 125,000 below the true figure.

‘Per head of population, London receives two and half times our funding and Merseyside almost twice.

‘We had hoped the Home Office would rectify this discrimination with its proposals, but it appears to have reinforced it through taking money away from Devon and Cornwall to give to metropolitan police forces.’

To sign the petition calling for fair funding of the police force, visit www.devonandcornwall-pcc.gov.uk/take-part/fair-funding-petition/.