FRONTLINE policing in Winchester will suffer a serious blow as officers revealed that the sale of the city’s police station will be followed by dozens of job cuts.

Last week the Chronicle reported that North Walls station is set to close, with its officers and backroom staff moving to other city bases.

But cuts to frontline and backroom staff will follow shortly after, it was confirmed on Tuesday, with constables, response officers and detectives all leaving in the next few years.

It comes less than a week after police said the North Walls sale would not affect staff numbers or service. Nobody will lose their jobs when the base closes, but the same round of cuts will take dozens of staff out of the city.

Winchester Chief Inspector Darius Hemmatpour said that the district will lose 10 response and patrol officers and four police constables, gaining four PCSOs in their place, as Hampshire Constabulary cuts £25 million from its budget by 2016.

Twenty detectives and investigative staff at Winchester CID will move to Basingstoke before learning how many of their number will be cut.

Police told Tuesday’s Neighbourhood Watch meeting that "where possible" job losses would come by not replacing staff as they leave. Hampshire police and crime commissioner Simon Hayes said around 130 staff retire or relocate every year in Hampshire.

Government budget cuts have forced Hampshire Constabulary to find £80 million in savings since 2010, with another comprehensive review expected after next year’s general election.

Mr Hayes said that selling off buildings like North Walls will save £5 million, money which would otherwise have been taken from the budget through around 600 job losses.

Assistant Chief Constable David Pryde told the Chronicle that he expected 1,000 jobs – half of which will be frontline staff – to be lost across the county in next two rounds of cuts, including around 100 in Winchester.

"We've got nowhere else to go," he said.

"It's not going to implode - we're trying to do things differently. The status quo will not remain, it can't.

"It's not going to be as slick as it was. It's impossible with that cutting money."

Insp Hemmatpour said the restructure allowed him to draft officers from other areas to handle specific incidents, but he conceded that they might not know Winchester as well as dedicated staff.

"You won't necessarily have the same local knowledge that a local officer would have," he said, "but they can be a bit more objective about what they have to do."

He added that savings targets – and resulting job losses – cannot be determined beyond 2016 until after the general election, but he expects more cuts which, like the latest round, will "hurt".