NEW Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week received a plea to restore the 750 officers Lancashire police has lost since 2010.

County crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw has warned him and Home Secretary Priti Patel it would be‘unacceptable’ if the force lost out in allocation of the the promised 20,000 new bobbies across England and Wales.

Mr Johnson announced the extra officers in Birmingham on July 26, just two days after he entered 10 Downing Street. Recruitment will start next month.

Mr Grunshaw has written to the Prime Minister and Mrs Patel asking for a meeting to make the case for 750 officers for Lancashire.

His letter tells them: “Lancashire has seen some of the largest losses of police officers in the country with over 750 lost since 2010. Put simply we want out fair share of 20,000 officers to replace as a minimum what the force has lost after successive governments have decimated funding.

“Should the government base officer numbers simply on current police grant levels, this would leave forces such as Lancashire significantly worse off.

“Based on the current funding formula, Lancashire would receive back 509 officers which would leave us around 244 short from 2010 levels. Using the same modelling, Surrey police would gain 258 officers despite only losing eight officers since 2010 which is a stark injustice.

“It will not be acceptable to the people of Lancashire to see more affluent forces receive officers in excess of 2010 levels while Lancashire remains short of the numbers it once had.

"In our readiness return submission to the College of Policing, Lancashire Constabulary was clear that it would be able to deliver 740 officers over three years. I believe that the government should match our ambition.”

Mr Grunshaw said in a statement: “I am calling on Boris Johnson and the Government to match our ambition in Lancashire and replace the 750 officers lost since 2010.

"For Lancashire to lose out whilst other forces actually put on officer numbers would be akin to sending officers by the bus load to other forces.

"This simply will not suffice and the people of Lancashire will not accept this settlement.

"Despite Boris Johnson promising to deliver 20,000 officers across the country, he has yet to provide us with any details about where these officers will be and it is my understanding that a decision will be made before the end of August.

"I have asked for a meeting with the Prime Minister to understand the journey that Lancashire Constabulary has taken since the introduction of austerity in 2010 so that he can bear this in mind when coming to any final decisions.

"I am standing up for Lancashire and want to make sure that any allocation of officers is fair and appropriately funded.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “This government is moving at pace to deliver on its commitment to recruit 20,000 new police officers within three years. We are working with police forces to establish what they need.”