Police helicopter base which covers Shropshire to close

The National Police Aviation Service said its helicopter base at Halfpenny Green, Bobbington, will close on January 1 as part of a plan to save £5.5 million. Rhuddlan helicopter base in north Wales, which is the closest airbase to parts of north-west Shropshire, is also to shut.

Telford MP David Wright said he was concerned by the possible impact the move might have on the service, and would be raising the matter with the police commissioner. "It raises a number of questions about police coverage in Telford," he said.

"It's about the time that they can stay in the air while on location."

However, Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, said it was an operational decision for officers to make. "I think most people would like to see more funds re-directed to supporting local community policing and purchasing more mobile police stations," he said.

Ludlow MP Philip Dunne said he did not believe the change would have any major impact on his constituency.

"I'm sure the police are managing their sites as efficiently as possible, and I think it is a matter for the police," he said. "I don't think it will make very much difference to response times."

Halfpenny Green is one of eight police helicopter bases due to close across Britain, reducing the total number from 23 to 15.

Rhuddlan, in Denbighshire, will be the first to close in September.

The base at Barton in Salford will not be affected by the closure plan.

Chief Superintendent Ian Whitehouse, accountable manager for the National Police Air Service, said it needed to reduce its budget by 14 per cent over the next three years, on top of £11 million cuts already made, amounting to 23 per cent of the force budget. He said instead of local forces operating aircraft in their own area, it would mean they would summon whichever one happened to be closest at any given time.

"Local police forces facing similar savings are looking at how they rationalise their estate and ways of operating and NPAS is no different in this regard," he said.

Mr Whitehouse said there were no job losses planned at this time. He added: "We have entered a 45-day period of staff consultation and staff are being asked to preference where they wish to work. Once we conclude that consultation we will determine if any staff have to be put at risk of redundancy."