NORTHUMBRIA'S Police and Crime Commissioner has said pension changes imposed by the government would be a "mortal wound" to Northumbria Police.

The government wants police forces to increase the amount they contribute to officers' pensions.

Dame Vera Baird said the raise in employer pension contributions by 39 per cent would place an extra 9.7 per cent on the salary cost of every officer in Northumbria Police.

“This is an impossible amount of money that the government is asking for - with no notification," she said. "Simply put, if we get this bill, we will have nothing in reserves. It would be a mortal wound to Northumbria Police.

"We have discussed whether there are any economies that we can plan in order to prepare for this extra unnecessary cost and we simply cannot pay it."

Northumbria Police believes it would cost the force over £11m in the next two years - the equivalent to almost 220 officers.

Nationally it is expected that the full cost of £417m by 2020/21 equates to around 10,000 police officers. 

Dame Vera said the bill should be paid for by the Home Office or scrapped. She added: “It’s no good the Home Office saying they are working with police forces to understand the impact - let me be absolutely clear to the Home Secretary, you cannot just chuck this bill at us and not appreciate the problems it will cause.”