A £30MILLION budget cut could leave modern day Dorset being policed by officer numbers of the 1980s, campaigners are warning.

Dorset Police Federation (DPF) has joined the ‘Cuts Have Consequences’ campaign and is running a six-week drive across the county highlighting the effects of budget cuts on Dorset Police and what that will mean to the taxpayer.

More than £20million has been slashed from police budgets according to the campaign, with another £10m of cuts expected.

Dorset Police Federation has said it believes that with more cuts on the way, the force could be driven to a reactive rather than proactive style of policing.

The DPF says the number of police officers in Dorset has already ‘plummeted’ by 19 per cent in the last five years because of spending cuts.

That is one in five fewer officers going about their day-to-day duties.

A spokesman said: “It is especially visible in rural areas, where there has been at least a 50 per cent reduction in safer neighbourhood officers on the beat.”

Tony Tester, chairman of the federation, said: “I fear the public don’t realise what they are about to lose.

“It is not only everyday contact with police officers that will be lost; there will also be a detrimental impact on crime prevention and proactive policing.”

It was announced earlier this month that while there would be fewer cuts to Dorset Police’s front counter services, six are still set to close.

The federation also said that 280 police officer posts had been cut since 2009.

Martyn Underhill was the first Police and Crime Commissioner to support the campaign.

Earlier this month the Police and Crime Panel agreed to freeze the police precept and accept a government grant of £574,000 for the coming financial year.