THE safety of Dudley residents will not be compromised by the closure of the town's police station, a top cop has vowed.

West Midlands Police wants to close 28 buildings - including stations in Dudley and Netherton - across the region over the next two years in a bid to save £8.5million.

But while the move would help the force in its bid to reduce its overall budget by £130 million by 2020, it "would not impact on the service the public receive", according to Deputy Chief Constable David Thompson.

He said: "These buildings are not used a lot. They are a throwback to a time officers were deployed from these buildings, that's not the way we work now."

None of the buildings earmarked for closure are open to the public and are either used as storage facilities or administrative bases by officers.

If closures go ahead, staff will move to other police buildings within the local policing area.

Tom Cuddeford, deputy chairman of West Midlands Police Federation, said he understood that the force had got to "balance the books", adding: "We don’t want to lose officers or staff over buildings – we want to keep these people in work so they can in turn look after their local communities."

However he said the closures would "take officers further from the communities they serve".

He continued: "Instead of having a base on their patch, they will have to travel from another base meaning they are available to the public for less time.

“The closures will also have an effect from a public confidence perspective since we know that this always increases when there is a police building nearby.”

Dudley North MP Ian Austin said he thought it would be "completely unacceptable" for the force to not to have officers based in the town.

He added: "I’ll carry on campaigning to have a permanent police base in Dudley."

His thoughts were echoed by West Midlands MEP and Sedgley councillor Bill Etheridge, who said he would "not take this decision lying down".

Cllr Etheridge added: "This is very grim news for the region, its people and for policing and law enforcement as a whole."

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson is expected to make a decision on the proposals next month, following a public engagement period led by the force.

He told the News: "There has been much comment in the previous few days about this issue.

"I would like to point out that these proposals have been made following the disproportionate cuts that West Midlands Police have faced and the overriding view that officers, not buildings keep people safe."