West Yorkshire Police claim cost savings are needed because of a lack of Government cash - and it's the frontline services that are under the axe. JONATHAN WALTON looks into how the force aims to bridge a £17 million funding shortfall Retiring police horses, selling off half the Land-Rover riot van fleet and closing up to ten police station front counters: ways police chiefs are looking to save cash to shore up a gaping hole in the budget.

With £17 million to salvage in order to meet the £380 million annual budget it needs, West Yorkshire Police faces tough choices impacting on service people currently enjoy.

Among the most controversial is a plan that would make the simple act of handing in a lost wallet a far less simple prospect.

The expected closure of police station front counters across the district in a bid to save cash has drawn opposition from MPs and outraged people in places like Cleckheaton and Shipley who will be forced into travelling to Bradford or Keighley to meet police face-to-face.

Thousands of residents in Shipley signed a petition against the plan, which was devised in the face of a massive police budget deficit, while MPs have taken the battle forward.

Front counters at Brighouse, Heckmondwike and Cleckheaton are among the ten earmarked for closure across West Yorkshire under force plans to save about £1 million over the next two years.

Shipley police helpdesk is already a victim of the planned cuts, where the force has came under fire for spending £55,000 on refitting the front desk immediately before closing it.

The Telegraph & Argus used the Freedom of Information Act to force West Yorkshire Police Authority to reveal that £55,198 was spent on making the station compliant with the Disability and Discrimination Act.

In response, police said the work had been completed in February - before the force started the cost-saving measures to address the £17.7 million shortfall.

Meanwhile, pressure from MPs Philip Davies in Bingley and Greg Mulholland in Otley helped secure the future of closure-threatened helpdesks there.

But beyond closing the helpdesks, just how will the police authority tackle the hole in its finances because the Government failed to deliver expected funding?

Authority members have been presented with a 30-point plan for reducing the deficit by £15 million between 2006 and 2008.

Along with the reductions to police station helpdesks at a saving of £700,000, the list of potential savings includes: Cutting £682,000 by not filling vacant traffic warden posts Saving £125,000 by reducing the number of driver/handyman posts Cutting £205,000 by reducing the amount spent on agency staff Saving £102,000 by cutting out Cable and Wireless and running the 'Viper' electronic identity parade system over the West Yorkshire Police network Saving £300,000 by merging Killingbeck and Chapeltown police divisions in Leeds Cutting £20,000 by reducing the mounted sections from 26 to 21 Selling half of the Land-Rover fleet used in public order operations to save £100,000 Saving £139,000 by grouping recruitment advertisements together Mark Burns-Williamson, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Authority, said it had faced a tough call in the struggle to rein in its finances.

"The bottom line is that, firstly, we said we didn't want to make anyone redundant, and secondly we wanted to make sure we could continue to expand neighbourhood policing and put more officers on to the streets.

"We have priority areas we have to put money into, such as counter-terrorism and improving the quality of service for victims of crime, keeping them fully informed. The underlying issue is the central settlement being around £15 million short of what we should have received."

MP Philip Davies took the battle to save Shipley police helpdesk all the way to the Commons.

He won the right to lead a debate in which he stated the case for helpdesks and called on Home Office Minister Paul Goggins to find the £700,000 needed to keep them open.

Mr Goggins said he did not have the money but admitted that if the "needs-based formula" used to work out funding for police forces had been strictly kept to, West Yorkshire would have received the £15 million it had expected.

"We have to make a balanced judgement when it comes to ensuring that needs are met and that we have stability in the police service throughout the country, " he said.

Mr Goggins added that budget management was "a matter for the chief constable and the police authority, " adding that closing helpdesks should not be a blow to the communities as most people contacted police by phone.

Mr Davies has said that, given the figures, he could find other savings in West Yorkshire Police finances that would safeguard helpdesks.

He has criticised spending on Your Police, an eight-page newspaper delivered to every household in the county.

He told the Commons: "Surely if money needs to be saved, that should be the first thing to go. The newspaper does not even inform people of the closure of the helpdesks. You could not make it up.

"Does the Government encourage its money to be spent on that wasteful propaganda or does the Minister agree that a police force should not be able to afford to dish out a newspaper full of propaganda that nobody is interested in when it cannot even afford to keep its police station help desks open?"

West Yorkshire Police defended the planned cuts, saying the way people reached police had changed.

"The majority of people who contact us to report crimes do so by telephone, " said a spokesman.

"We also have increased internet interaction with the public, our website providing essential information about Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

"Those teams are actively working within the communities they serve and provide a more local contact point."

He said savings will be made by redeploying helpdesk staff into current vacancies.

"Public consultation is a constant ongoing process and one message we get time and again is that people do not want to lose front-line police services.

"The helpdesk closures are regrettable, but we simply must make savings somewhere. Despite any planned changes, there will be a 24-hour helpdesk open in every police division within West Yorkshire.

"We have made it clear that there will be no police station closures."