There are just four police stations open to the public in Derbyshire after a drop of more than 80 per cent, new figures have revealed.

Among the ones to close are Swadlincote Police Station which is no longer open to the public. The office a base for officers, but residents have to book an appointment if they would like to speak to an officer.

Across England and Wales, nearly 400 police front counters have been shut, meaning the number of public police stations has almost halved in seven years, according to a Freedom of Information request by the Mail on Sunday. Figures from 31 of the 3 forces across the UK show that just 510 counters were open to the public in March - a fall of 43 per cent from 2010 when there were 901.

Derbyshire Constabulary saw the biggest reduction, with the number of front counters open to the public falling from 25 to four, despite the population growing by five per cent.

Residents have to book appointments to see an officer at Swadlincote Police Station

Derbyshire's Chief Constable, Peter Goodman, said: "The decision to reduce the number of counter services to four was taken after a review of enquiry offices showed that very few residents were using them.

"We found that more people than ever before were choosing to contact us online or by phone and advances in technology meant that many of the tasks carried out at enquiry offices were being done by a computer instead. Staffing underused offices was not a good use of our resources."

Other places to lose their front counter services include Ashbourne, Ilkeston, Ripley and Buxton.

Meanwhile, a letter was sent to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, jointly signed by Mr Goodman and Derbyshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Hardyal Dhindsa, calling for recent cuts to general police budgets to stop.

The letter read: "It is against this backdrop that we say enough is enough. Policing in Derbyshire has been cut to levels which are dangerous for our public and destabilising our staff. We recognise the financial stability of the country and the many challenges that we face, but believe now is the time to make a stance on behalf of the people of Derbyshire."