THE thin blue line will be stretched to the limit in Bromsgrove it is feared, if a merger between two police divisions comes about.

The Advertiser/Messenger has learned exclusively that a proposed merger between the Bromsgrove/Redditch and Kidderminster divisions is being considered.

It is felt such move would further diminish the force's presence in the town since the control room and custody facilities at the police station in the Crescent, along with the nearby courtroom, were moved to Redditch a few years ago.

The point of contact for Bromsgrove residents will however, soon be even further removed from the town when the Redditch control room is relocated to West Mercia's headquarter at Hindlip near Worcester.

Presently the Redditch and Bromsgrove division is the smallest in the whole of the force area.

Commenting on the proposal Bromsgrove's MP Julie Kirkbride said: "I am appalled. The plan can only be driven by a desire to hide cuts in police numbers and will inevitably mean even fewer police on the beat in Bromsgrove.

"It will also lead to the thin blue line of law enforcement being spread over an even wider area."

A force press spokesman said a Best Value review of territorial policing has identified the need for divisional boundaries, described as "anachronistic and dysfunctional" across the force, to be aligned with those of local authorities.

The review was presented recently to West Mercia Police Authority which agreed the force should move forward on this basis, but the spokesman stressed no decisions have yet been made on restructuring divisions.

Any restructuring will be driven by the principal that the service must be improved and any cash savings reinvested in policing the areas concerned, he added.