"EXTREME Tory cuts" would mean 1,200 fewer police officers in the North-East over the next three years, the shadow Home Secretary warned today (Tuesday, April 14) during a visit to the region.

Yvette Cooper said an estimated 10,000 neighbourhood police officers could go under Conservative cost-cutting plans as she outlined Labour's strategy for protecting officer numbers.

She spoke during a fleeting visit to Stockton police station and then on to Harbour, a domestic violence charity which helps both victims and perpetrators. She was joined by Louise Baldock, Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Stockton South.

Ms Cooper heard from officers about the work they did and why neighbourhood policing was so important.

She said: "The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said there would be deeper cuts to policing than we have had in the last five years and I think that is unsustainable. It means we would end up losing neighbourhood policing and that is really precious.

"I have been hearing from neighbourhood police officers in Stockton, and I think this kind of policing is too important to let the Tories destroy it. Neighbourhood officers do so many different things, whether it is helping victims of domestic violence, looking for a missing child or getting intelligence that helps them crack crimes.

"What we will do is abolish Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) abolish subsidies for gun licences and introduce joint equipment contracts for all forces.

"That will deliver an £800m saving, and that is enough to fund 10,000 police officers. The overall level of policing will depend on the decisions made by the individual chief constables.

"Cleveland Police has lost over 300 police officers since the last Government and the scale of extreme Tory cuts mean more will go."

She said that local authorities would hold police forces to account rather than the current PCCs, under Labour plans.

"That would be much cheaper than PCCs as you wouldn't have to have PCC elections which the public didn't engage with anyway - only one in right people turned out to vote in them. Abolishing PCCs would save £130m alone over the next Parliament."