THE news that 1,000 police jobs in Lancashire are to be lost over the next four years is extremely worrying.

According to the Police Federation, the organisation which represents rank and file officers, at least 400 of these posts will be from the front line.

The others will be backroom support staff, the people who do the paperwork to make sure officers spend more time on the beat.

When the new coalition government came to power it warned that savings needed to be made to balance the books.

But the extent of just how savage these cuts are going to be is only now becoming clear.

To lose this amount of staff will put Lancashire Constabulary under a huge amount of pressure.

And the big fear is that as a result crime will rise.

At the moment the force has an extremely enviable record, with crime officially at its lowest level since 1973.

Just how long can this continue after millions of pounds are slashed from its budget?

Chief Constable Steve Finnigan has a tough job ahead of him to maintain standards and the morale of his officers.

Let us hope he can steer the force through this difficult time and minimise the impact of these cuts as much as possible.