POLICE in the New Forest are "reaching breaking point" and morale is "at its lowest in 25 years", Parliament has been warned.

New Forest East MP, Doctor Julian Lewis, took the complaints of officers to the House of Commons, where he had already expressed concerns about the implications of the Police Reform Bill.

Referring to cuts in the numbers of officers in the New Forest, he quoted a letter from an officer which recalled: "There was a time when the five operational stations within the New Forest Division were staffed with five detective sergeants and up to 20 detective constables.

"Now it is two detective sergeants and 11 detective constables.

"The pressures on the officers within the New Forest and Hampshire as a whole are immense, yet we are still meeting or heading towards the performance indicators set for us, though, God only knows, we must remember that quantity does not mean quality.

"We are reaching breaking point and offering a sub-standard service to the public."

In addressing the House of Commons, Doctor Lewis praised the approach of the Forest's recently-appointed divisional commander, Superintendent Paul Colley, whom he described as "a proponent of proactive policing."

The MP added: "That means going out, nipping it in the bud before it can develop.

"It contrasts with the centralised and reactive way in which so much policing is carried out today."