Half of the borough’s police stations remain closed to the public in order to boost the number of police on the streets.

Gipsy Hill, Cavendish Road and Clapham Police Stations' front counters have been shut since late August.

The temporary closures came after a review found that at times, ten police officers a day were running the counters to fill staffing gaps.

Lambeth police operations Superintendent Andy Howe said: "It enabled us to put more officers on the streets. It’s better to have a police constable in uniform to walk the streets of Lambeth."

He said the the least busy front counters, which sometimes saw as few as two people a day, were closed and their reopening was constantly under review.

But David Green, chairman of the Gipsy Hill Safer Neighbourhood Panel, said spoke out against the stations being closed to the public.

Mr Green said: "I’m concerned that people will not have direct access to police and they will not be able to discuss issues of concern with them.

"It’s vital there is a place of contact for the community."

The Metropolitan Police website says the stations are temporarily closed until further notice.For non-emergency matters call 101.