DEVON and Cornwall Police could be forced to axe 300 officers if the Government's multi-billion-pound banking bailout results in public spending being slashed.

The force fears that policing would be hit hardest if ministers decide to protect spending on health and education while having to pay for loans used to support the ailing banking industry.

Those concerns have resulted in an unprecedented letter from Chief Constable Stephen Otter and Mike Bull, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority, to the region's MPs to rally support and lobbying power. Funding has been guaranteed until 2010/11, but not beyond.

In a stark nine-point briefing note they warned that a freeze in police grant in 2011/12 coupled with a 3 per cent increase in council tax levy would require savings of £11 million.

"In order to get a feel for the potential scale of the problem, saving say £10 million from police officer pay would be equivalent to losing some 300 police officers," they wrote.

The force, which currently boasts 3,500 officers, has undergone major change in recent years. Some 250 civilian back-office posts have been lost – around 10 per cent – allowing a further 200 officers to be transferred to the frontline. While making multi-million-pound savings year-on-year, the restructuring has delivered results, with overall crime falling and public confidence in the police rising. This year's police grant was £186 million.

"We have consistently delivered above-target savings and have shifted considerable resources from back-office functions to the front line," Mr Otter and Mr Bull told MPs. "In spite of this record, we are fearful that possible future restrictions on public spending could mean it is impossible to sustain officer numbers and could mean a major and continued setback for front-line policing." A senior team has already been appointed by the force to plan for a variety of budget scenarios in 2011/12. They have been briefed to "think the unthinkable".

Any job losses among officers could not be delivered by "natural wastage" and freezing recruitment. Senior police sources said ministers and Whitehall officials were currently unwilling to discuss future budgets, with no-one breaking ranks. It is unclear whether a department-by-department, comprehensive spending review will be held before the next general election, likely to be May 2010.

"There has been much debate on the problems of public sector spending and the need to constrain spending to bring debt levels down after the recession," the briefing went on. "No doubt there will be much more over the coming months. However, many commentators agree that the financial and economic crisis will lead to major constraints on public spending over the next two to five years.

"So far, different speakers have talked of protecting health or, perhaps, education. There is a real danger that, in these debates, policing could be treated merely as part of 'other public spending' – a sector that is likely to face the most severe constraints, especially if it also has to cover the real and growing cost of servicing public sector debt.

"The purpose of this note is to remind members that there are real and pressing demands for policing, demands which cannot be met if resources for policing are frozen or reduced. We are dependent on council tax and, crucially, police grant.

"We believe our strategy here in Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to drive up the number of police officers and to enhance front-line policing is what local communities want and is entirely consistent with Government policy. Enhanced policing has been and is a success.

"It would be most unfortunate if this success was to be undermined by spending constraints in a public spending round dominated by the big spenders of health, education and debt."

The approach met a mixed response from MPs. Gary Streeter, Tory MP for South West Devon, said the police should resist "whingeing" and instead concentrate on modernising the way they work.

"Every department is going to have to tighten its belt in the next few years – that's the reality," he said. "I think there are lots of ways the police – who I have huge respect for – could look to do things better, particularly in the management.

"They could learn colossal things from the private sector. They are still stuck in the dark ages in terms of technology."

He added: "It is no good just whingeing because whingeing will get you nowhere. There will be no special pleading if there is a Conservative government."

Senior police sources have suggested they fear the commitment by both Labour and the Conservatives to protect health spending was unfair. One insider said: "It will leave the health service just as unfit as it is now."

Geoffrey Cox, Tory MP for Torridge and West Devon, said: "If the chief constable is very concerned that the financial allocation to them is going to be insufficient to keep their front-line officers at full strength, that would be a very, very retrograde and disappointing outcome if that is true."

A Home Office spokesman said the police funding formula was "designed to make sure that all forces, regardless of whether they are rural or urban, are adequately resourced". He said there had been a 60 per cent increase in funding for police since 1997 and added that police numbers were at an all-time high.

"In addition, the Rural Police Fund provides extra funding to help rural forces meet their unique policing priorities, increasing both the visibility of police officers in rural communities and the public's access to them."