WORCESTER'S MP has been in talks with police minister Tony McNulty over proposed police mergers.

Mike Foster met Mr McNulty to discuss Govern-ment plans to merge West Mercia into a regional super-force, covering the entire West Midlands.

Last week's meeting followed a separate get-together between the minister and senior figures from the West Mercia force area.

Mr Foster said: "I have been working closely with West Mercia police over the last few months, knowing of their concerns about mergers.

"In particular, they are worried about the speed with which these planned mergers are to take place.

"I made this point very strongly to the minister when we met to discuss this."

He spoke of his concerns about the future of neighbourhood policing.

"It is important that neighbourhood policing is protected - and that extra resources are made available to Worcester in the form of additional community support officers, as well as local policing teams," he added.

"I wanted, and received assurances about neighbourhood policing.

"The minister listened carefully to all the arguments I put forward, which supported those proposals made by the police themselves."

The government proposals would see West Mercia

join Staffordshire, Warwick-shire and the West Midlands police forces.

However, earlier this month, West Mercia decided to legally challenge the Home Office's proposals by seeking a judicial review - delaying the proposed merger by several months.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that West Mercia police's chief constable, Paul West, and West Mercia Police Authority chairman, Paul Deneen, met Mr McNulty last Monday, but said they would not be discussing with the media the details of what they had discussed.