West Midlands Police staff in dash for the exit

Eight hundred West Midlands Police staff have applied for 400 places on the cash-strapped force's voluntary redundancy scheme, the Express & Star can reveal.

Chiefs hope the move will save £29 million of £125m to be cut.

The scheme, which ran until November 26, offers one-and-half times the minimum pay-off and full pension rights.

It affects staff such as IT support workers, call handlers and human resources staff, but not police officers.

The force intends to increase the amount saved with plans to force officers with 30 years' of service or more to retire.

A decision on that plan, which would save £11.7m, has been delayed but is expected before Christmas.

Derek Smith, force director of resources, said: "We have already put in place freezes on recruitment and these, combined with natural turnover over the next few years, should result in substantial savings."

Chief Constable Chris Sims says compulsory redundancy for staff is an option and "all areas of business" would be affected by Government cuts butfront line services would be protected "where possible".

Wolverhampton Labour Councillor Bob Jones, who sits on the West Midlands Police Authority, said it was important to look at why people were wanting to leave. He admitted poor morale may have had an impact, but suggested many of those applying were acting in the "wider interests" of the force.

In Staffordshire more than 200 jobs have been axed by police in just 12 months as the force prepares to save £20m from its £190m budget by the end of March 2013. Earlier in the year, West Mercia Police revealed it wanted to save £9.8 million over three years.

A total of 98 police officer posts and 189 staff roles will be lost. Most of the posts will go through staff turnover and retirements.