THE Government's U-turn over the West Mercia police merger issue has been greeted with delight by politicians.

Wyre Forest MP, Dr Richard Taylor, said: "We have all been telling the Government for a long time that people in West Mercia are unanimously against a merger of their force with the three others in the West Midlands.

"This is an almost unique opportunity for the Government to show that it listens when there is a unanimous opposition from the police authority, serving officers and the people. It would do them no small harm to take these views on board permanently."

Mark Garnier, Conservative parliamentary spokesman for Wyre Forest, thanked everyone who supported the petition and said the announcement was "proof they really do work".

He added: "The first thing about all of this is the amount of time and money wasted.

"We are very unhappy because that was money that should have been spent on frontline policing, not on the whim of whatever the Home Secretary of the time wanted.

"We can see the wisdom of police forces working together and we would encourage voluntary co-operation of police forces as they see fit. That is the important point."

He warned, however: "This announcement does not rule out this happening in the future and we want the Government to rule it out once and for all."

Wyre Forest District Council deputy leader, Marcus Hart, said: "The district council has been very pleased by the news.

"As far back as last November we passed a resolution stating, as a council, we were opposed to the West Mercia merger and wanted it to stand alone and remain independent.

"We also wrote a letters to the Home Secretary at the time, Charles Clarke, and Tony Blair.

"It is one of the best performing forces in the country and we are delighted it will not be forced into a merger."