The time it takes for police to respond to the most urgent 999 calls in Richmond has risen significantly since merging with several neighbouring boroughs.

In June this year, Wandsworth, Kingston, Richmond and Merton units were combined to form the current Borough Command Unit.

But figures seen by the Richmond and Twickenham Times show that the switch hasn't exactly gone smoothly.

In the four months after the merger (June 18 - September 18) response times across Richmond for the most serious 999 calls took an average of 17 minutes and 2 seconds (with a peak of 19:38 in August) and good for fourth slowest in the Met. The target time is 15 minutes.

Sally Benatar, South West BCU Commander, said since the borough commands of Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth merged to form the South West BCU, she has been monitoring the response to emergency calls.

"Whilst response times remain in line with the Metropolitan Police average in Merton and Wandsworth Boroughs, they have increased for both Kingston and Richmond Boroughs," she said.

"We are taking a number of steps to reduce response times in the face of increasing operational demand across the four boroughs.

"One of these steps is to reduce the demand on response officers by diverting calls that don’t need a face to face response to our Local Resolution Team or Telephone and Digital Investigation Unit, whilst ensuring that the most appropriate response is provided to each caller according to their needs and the level of risk."

Merton Councillor Paul Kohler has campaigned against the closure of local police stations since he was badly beaten by burglars in his own home in 2014.

He said the rise was unacceptable.

"I am appalled by this dramatic fall in response times following the merger," he said.

"The police who saved me arrived within eight minutes and I fear, after seeing these figures, I would be dead if the attack happened now."

"I am amazed that the mayor (Sadiq Khan) is even considering closing Wimbledon police station after this news; let alone that he is planning to make his decision without even re-consulting despite the dramatic fall in response times that has occurred since the last consultation ended."

In regard to the second highest priority 999 calls, the figures didn't look much better.

In the four months after the merger these response times have skyrocketed to one hour and 54 minutes, nearly double the hour target.

Ms Benatar said another way they are hoping to improve response times was to "make sure the closest vehicle available is always despatched to the call through improved command and control."

"I expect my response officers to arrive at incidents safely, and as promptly as possible, and to provide an excellent service to the public when they do arrive," she said.

"I am proud of the service they provide and the way they deal with whatever they are faced with, with courage and compassion.

"I am confident that the response times for Kingston and Richmond will improve with the internal measures I am taking."