THE axe could fall on Lancashire police's own mounted service after the force revealed today that it was facing a £7 million cash crisis.

And if the grim predictions about next year's budget are correct, another option for savings would be cutting back office staff numbers - and taking frontline police officers off the streets to replace them.

And a further option would be sharing out the under water search team, which already serves Lancashire and Cumbria, with other forces.

The mounted service, in operation since 1911, would not be axed completely, but shared out with other forces, reducing their effectiveness in Lancashire.

Police bosses claim they would be left with no choice but to make just more than £7 million of savings if their worst fears about funding come true.

The indication is that the Government will only give three-and-a-half per cent extra (£6.4 million), when six per cent (£13.5 million) is needed just to stand still.

Lancashire police would like to charge council tax payers 15 per cent extra for their contribution to make up the shortfall. But the Government is indicating that all council tax rises will be capped to three per cent.

Baroness Ruth Henig, chair of Lancashire Police authority, is lobbying the Government in a bid to change ministers' minds and police bosses are to stage public meetings across the county to see if there is support for a 15 per cent council tax rise. If they find people are willing to pay, then the information will be used to put pressure on the Government. Brian Aldred, chief executive of the police authority, said: "There's never been a budget as difficult as this.

"We feel pessimistic about the capping. When we go into a general election the last thing a Government wants is to increase council tax."

Baroness Henig added: "If we don't get resources then not too far down the line there will be reductions in policing. It is very hard to find any other way if we are not able to get local people to put more money in.

"One option would be to look at not replacing staff who leave in the back office. Then we would have to put police officers in back offices, reversing what we have done over the past three years.

"Putting more officers on the frontline has been hugely successful and we don't want to put that in reverse. That would be crazy. The specialist services we may look to for savings are, for example, the under water search team.

"The mounted police branch will be a big issue. They are enormously effective but costly. Other forces don't have horses so we could look to share the service."

Deputy Chief Constable Steve Finnigan said: "Whatever happens we cannot live with that settlement without it impacting on service delivery.

"It is for us to try and negate that. That is for the Chief Constable's judgement. We are not going to allow cuts to frontline areas like community beat managers, response officers and targeted teams. This areas are sacrosanct, so we will have to look elsewhere like back office or specialist functions.

"Our recruitment drive for 100 extra officers this year hasn't been frozen, but there is going to be a lot of officers retiring in the next few years. We may have to turn that tap off to replace them." Mr Aldred, Mr Finnigan and Baroness Henig feel there will be public support for a 15 per cent increase in council tax, the equivalent to £13.17 extra to Band D householders' current £100 annual bill.

This is because, they say, Lancashire's police council tax precept is currently the fourth lowest in the country and the force is 500 officers short of the national average.

In addition, financial bosses say the force has saved £44 million in efficiency savings over the past eight years.

The mounted branch in Lancashire was officially formed in 1911, although horses had been assigned to superintendents since 1839. When it became an established unit 93 years ago, it was made up of 50 men and 52 horses, stabled in nine locations including Blackburn, Reedley, Church and Chorley.