WEST Midlands Police has announced the front desk at Dudley's police station will be shut to save cash.

The desk will be among 27 police stations, including Halesowen and Stourbridge, to be closed to the public over the next 12 months to save £3m.

The desk at Sedgley will remain open and be run by volunteers while the Brierley Hill desk, which currently operates 24 hours-a-day, will be open from 8am to 10pm.

The force says demand has dropped and modern communications technology has made the front desk a thing of the past.

West Midlands Police and crime commissioner, David Jamieson, said: "The force’s 41 front desks reflect an era where if you wanted to contact the police you had a choice between a landline or visiting a police station in person. That world has changed, and the police must catch up too.

"Ninety five per cent of people have mobile phones now, and can contact the police from anywhere.”

Dudley North MP Ian Austin has been quick to criticise the plan and launched a petition against the closure.

He said: “It is completely unacceptable that a town the size of Dudley should have its police station closed to the public and I’ll be campaigning against these cuts.

“Dudley is a major town, not everyone who shops or lives there has a mobile phone and they ought to be able to speak to a police officer face to face.”

UKIP Dudley councillor Bill Etheridge MEP, who stood for election as West Midlands Police and crime commissioner, described the closure as a “grim day for law and order.”

He added: “People require visible police to give them the confidence to go about their day-to-day business."

Dudley North’s Conservative candidate, Afzal Amin, reckons the police know best how to spend their limited resources.

He said: “They are doing the job every day, if the police are saying we don’t need front-line desks we should trust them – not the rantings of politicians.”