A proposal by the Mayor of London to close two police stations in the borough has been met with approval from the local commander but Vince Cable wants ‘guarantees’.

Sadiq Khan has launched a consultation on reducing the number of police front desks throughout the capital, which includes closing the Sovereign Gate office on Kew Road and the Teddington station on Park Road – leaving just the 24/7 Twickenham desk, on London road.

The Mayor’s office said that reducing the front counters will enable an additional £10 million – the same it costs to have 170 constables – into frontline policing in London’s communities.

Parm Sandhu, the borough commander, said: “We have taken into account the footage and usage of the front office when considering the proposal.

“I am going to be redeploying my staff on the desks to deal with the telephone and internet reports that we are getting and have been increasing.”

His office reported that just eight per cent of crimes were being reported at police front counters in 2016 compared to around 70 per cent being reported via the phone.

“It is a good thing because it means we will be able to put more resources where they are needed and incoming reports get followed up quicker,” added the commander.

According to the Mayor’s statistics, an average of 0.3 crimes were reported each day, in May, to the Sovereign Gate, front desk and 0 to the Teddington office.

The Mayor said: “The huge Government cuts to the Metropolitan Police Service have left us with no choice but to take drastic action to protect the frontline of policing.

If plans are finalised, the two stations – neither of which are open seven days a week or for more than two hours – will be amongst 41 other front desks to face the chop in London.

“My top priority is keeping Londoners safe, and every pound saved by closing a front counter is a pound of savings that we do not have to find by reducing the frontline.

"By freeing up officers and moving them closer to their communities, they will be able to spend more time on the beat to tackle the issues that matter most to Londoners, such as knife crime, anti-social behaviour, hate crime and extremism, and domestic abuse.”

“We will still be able to maintain a 24/7 front counter service in every borough and are improving the telephone and online services that Londoners value so highly,” added the mayor.

Research from the Mayor’s office indicated that 37 per cent of Londoners would prefer to use the website, social media and other digital methods to report crimes and accidents.

“The Government urgently needs to properly fund the Met police so that they can do their job and keep Londoners safe.”

Plans for a new strategy would involve methods to progress investigations online and on the telephone and plans to increase the number of Safer Schools Officers.

Vince Cable, Lib Dem MP for Twickenham, said: “I am relieved about Twickenham police station being retained but I am very concerned about the plans for Teddington and Sovereign Gate being closed.

“At the very least I want firm assurances that police officers will not face their time wasted by increased travelling from these changes as that would be a totally false economy.

“The Mayor of London also needs to provide clear guarantees about the maintenance of police numbers, especially for community policing.

"Assurances also need to be provided that street surgeries and other ways to contact the police will exist in the future.

“Until these are provided it will be very hard for most people to accept the changes being put forward.”

Richmond council have announced that over the next few weeks, they will be looking into understanding the detail behind the proposal.

Cllr Mark Boyle, Richmond Council cabinet member for community safety, said: ““According to the figures we have been presented, the two public ‘counters’ in Richmond and Teddington do seem to be under used.

“This drop in usage could be for a number of reasons - however, we still need to see more detail on the proposals.”