Devon and Cornwall Police plans to close 34 stations and offices Published duration 15 October 2015

Thirty-four police stations and offices are scheduled to close in Devon and Cornwall in the next five years due to budget cuts, the BBC has learned.

The stations include Okehampton, Heavitree Road in Exeter, St Ives and Bude.

A senior officer told BBC News it was a "grave threat to community-based policing".

The force's annual budget of £284m is expected to be cut by £54m over the next five years.

The unnamed officer said: "This a grave threat to community-based policing that is bound to badly damage our engagement with neighbourhoods as we lose some of our most visible presence."

Andrew White, chief executive for the police and crime commissioner, said: "Both the commissioner and chief constable are clear - given the choice they always prefer to spend money on police officers rather than bricks and mortar.

"For some months we have been considering how best to reduce our estate, to reduce costs and create income whilst still maintaining an effective base for operational policing."

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner said none of the sites were currently open to the public and the closures or lease surrenders would make revenue savings of at least £1.053m a year.

Analysis: Simon Hall, BBC South West home affairs correspondent

These would be dramatic cuts and sweep away many decades of policing presence in Devon and Cornwall.

What is proposed illustrates the pressures on senior officers as they attempt to deal with unprecedented cuts to their budgets.

This was the decision no-one wanted to take, but ultimately the commanders felt they had no option.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said: "As a force we face challenging budget reductions set by the government and the subsequent need to reduce our workforce.

"It is only right that we review our estates and only keep those buildings that are not in need of significant modernisation and those needed to ensure we can continue to deliver a professional police service.

"We are not removing ourselves from our communities, we are being more efficient and organised around where we base our people to ensure we continue to deliver the best service we can."

The force, which covers the largest geographical police area in England, is expected to lose another 500 officers due to the cuts , which would see numbers reduced to 2,500 - down from 3,500 in 2010.

Devon and Cornwall Police will shortly begin a public consultation on what areas of policing should be cut.