I HAVE to say, the news that we could still see more police on the streets in the wake of a 25 per cent cut in the Thames Valley Police budget sounds brilliant to me.

Does it also mean we can slash our health budget and see more nurses in our hospitals?

Or hack into the fire and rescue service’s funds and see a few more fire engines whizzing about to deal with emergencies?

It certainly seems a novel approach to improving our front line emergency services.

Home Secretary Theresa May hopes the cuts to policing will hit the behind-the-scenes bureaucracy, letting our officers themselves become more visible.

It’s a great thought, but forgive me if I don’t quite see the logic.

Of course, we know our police force is hamstrung by endless red tape, and there must be sensible ways of freeing up cash and getting our police officers out from behind their desks.

But quick cuts tend not to trim the excess fat from an organisation, which surely must demand pretty thorough rethinks of the way it works from the ground up. Instead they tend to hit it where it hurts – and in this case, us as well.

Last week in these pages Chief Inspector Colin Seaton said it was unrealistic for the service to find 25 per cent savings and still deliver the same level of service.

With no disrespect intended to Mrs May, he’s the one I tend to agree with.