The borough's park police will be replaced by Metropolitan police officers despite concerns from residents and opposition councillors.

Councillors voted on Wednesday for the plans to go ahead.

Wandsworth Council want to save money by replacing the existing 16 parks police with 12 Metropolitan police officers to patrol its parks and open spaces.

They will be backed by a team of five existing park police officers, whilst the remaining parks police will be used for public events.

The council will use the Mayor of London's 'buy one get one free scheme' to pay the wages of half of the new officers, making a saving of £400,000 a year.

But opposition councillors voiced fears the scheme would leave the borough unprotected after the offer runs out.

Labour councillor Leonie Cooper said: "We should tell Boris to bog off. We haven't explored all options for ourselves."

She said the proposals should be put on hold until there was further consultation with the public.

A council spokesperson said they will be looking to negotiate and extend the offer beyond the three years.

Councillor Jonathon Cook, cabinet member for environment and community safety said: "For the first time in 25 years the parks will be patrolled on a daily basis by a dedicated squad of police officers with the full range of police powers, training, equipment and resources."

A spokesperson for the park police said they have been patrolling parks since 1987 and were a vital service to the public.

He said: "No Met squad can give the council the same level of control. With the Olympics and the riots the Metropolitan resources will be of the crime fighting role."

Frances Radcliffe, Chair of the Friends of Battersea Park, said the park used to be a no-go area and did not want this to happen again.

The proposals will be discussed again at a council meeting on November 21.