TROWBRIDGE and Melksham police stations will have their frontline enquiry office opening hours cut from November 30 in a bid to save Wiltshire Police nearly £10m over the next three years.

The force hopes that the changes will save them more than £200,000 a year after they found that eight out of ten visits to front counters are made during normal office hours.

Trowbridge police station, which is currently open Monday to Saturday 8am-8pm, will see its hours reduced to Monday to Friday 8.30am-5.30pm and Saturday 9am-1pm.

Melksham police station will have its hours reduced from Monday to Saturday 8am-8pm and Sundays 10am-6pm to just Monday to Friday 8.30am-5.30pm.

It was announced by Wiltshire Police that the new changes match the demand from the public and align with those of their council partners.

Supt Gavin Williams said: “It’s estimated that these changes will save the force in the region of £218,000 a year, a significant saving which will contribute to the overall £10 million that we are required to save by 2018.”

Wiltshire Police have said that they will continue to be visible in local communities despite the cut in hours and will take part in a range of community engagement activities including holding regular drop-in sessions, community beat patrols, attending Area Board meetings and locality meetings with local councillors where they can share information and gather feedback.

Other stations in the county such as Chippenham will see an increase in opening hours.

Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, said: “To have five enquiry offices open for business during normal office hours and three of those open on Saturday mornings as well seems to me to be a good service at a time of austerity for those people wishing to have face-to-face contact.

“We are also catering for people who want to use their phones to call us, and those with smart phones or tablets who want to contact us online.”

Reminders about the changes have been published through Facebook, Twitter and public information leaflets.

People who want to contact Wiltshire Police can ring 999 in an emergency, 101 for non-emergencies, or visit www.wiltshire.police.uk.