MORE than 50 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion calling on Home Secretary Charles Clarke to consider alternative options to the current plans to restructure the police services.

West Mercia's Police Authority chairman Paul Deneen joined his colleagues in London to meet some of the MPs and continue to lobby for the force to be allowed to continue as a strategic regional force in its own right.

Under present proposals, which the Home Secretary is believed to favour, West Mercia, Warwickshire and Staffordshire would be joined to the West Midlands force to create a regional giant.

The Association of Police Authorities is arguing for a variety of solutions to the call for enhanced policing services to tackle major threats such as terrorism and organised crime.

The Home Office is currently advocating a single approach of mergers of existing forces to create fewer and bigger police organisations.

Mr Deneen said: "West Mercia Police Authority supports the points made in the Early Day Motion.

"We have told Home Secretary Charles Clarke that, after extensive local consultation, our preferred option is for a strategic West Mercia police service, with more investment.

"While other forces in the West Midlands region favour a new four-force regional super force which would include West Mercia, we consider that a huge regional force would be altogether too large, raising important issues of set-up costs, effective management and local accountability.

"In particular, the Government have failed to reveal the evidence it claims to underlie its proposals to establish a minimum size for police forces."

Mr Deneen continued: "Restructuring would be both costly and disruptive. While any offsetting organisations savings remain long term and uncertain, the proposals themselves would not result in any improvement in available police resources to the front line.

"We prefer to invest in police officers and staff, not in organisational restructuring." The police authority submitted an interim business plan to the Home Secretary on December 22.

Its proposals, which include an extra £2.9 million investment in protective services and the recruitment of almost 100 extra officers and staff in 2006-7 are currently being considered by the Home Secretary.