CLOSING Netherton police station was "unfair and unnecessary" according to Dudley South MP Mike Wood.

The station shut its doors on Sunday (January 31) as part of West Midlands Police's plans to save £8.5million over the next two years.

But Mr Wood said closing the station "in an area where there are relatively high levels of crime and antisocial behaviour", could have been avoided as the force received "a far better settlement than expected from the government, following representations from MPs like myself".

The Conservative MP continued: "This year they are £2.5 million worse off - although that is still better than expected - and, under a new funding formula for forces such as West Midlands, they will be £10 million better off next year."

Mr Wood said it was "very regrettable" that David Jamieson, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, had "not listened" to objectors, including local Labour councillors.

Netherton Councillor Qadar Zada said losing the station was "a big blow", adding: "I really hope that police appreciate the impact this will have on the local community and recognise the consequences of their actions.

"I think that this demonstrates that the police have stopped listening to local people and it's becoming increasingly obvious that the days of local policing have come to an end.

"To say I am devastated is probably the understatement of the year. I wait to hear how our policing will improves as a result of these savings. I've yet to see the 'new ways of working' that I keep hearing about."

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said the closure was one of the "tough decisions" that had to be made to drive efficiencies and protect services elsewhere in the organisation.

He said by reducing the number of buildings the force owns and rents, it was able to axe plans to drop the number of police community support officers in the region from 674 to 349.

Mr Jamieson continued: "West Midlands Police's funding is still going down, that is why we are having to continue to cut elsewhere to protect our PCSOs.

"The truth is that the pressures on the police are growing, we are dealing with issues like radicalisation, cyber-crime and child sexual exploitation in greater numbers than before, and our funding is still falling.

"There are still difficult choices to be made in the future.”