CIVIC chiefs could disrupt the merger between Dorset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police following a division by members.

Cornwall Council held an emergency meeting and asked for an extension to the consultation being carried out over the plans to merge the two police forces.

It follows a motion put forward by Cllr Malcolm Brown, the leader of the ruling Liberal Democrat group on Cornwall Council, who recommended that the council oppose the merger.

Councillor Geoff Brown, cabinet member for Transportation at Cornwall Council, said: “It is a very bad idea for a whole load of reasons and we want to be opposing it.

“I think the consultation is really bad. My professional skill is being a researcher and surveys, and I can honestly say that I have never seen a worse consultation exercise.

“It is a retrograde step and more likely that in a few years time we will end up with a police force for the whole of the south-west.”

He added that the creation of a new police force could trigger a funding review which could see the police getting less funding in the future.

However, following a debate lasting several hours, the council voted to ask Alison Hernandez, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, to extend the consultation over the merger and to request a full business case for it.

The plans, which were officially revealed last month would see the combined force responsible for a combined population of around 2.5 million people between the New Forest and Land’s End.

The two forces have been in a strategic alliance for several years with 25 per cent of all staff currently work across the three counties.

A public consultation on the proposals is already under way and anyone who wants to have their say on the merger should visit futurepolicing.co.uk until Monday, August 27 to complete a survey.