DURHAM'S police commissioner says council budget cuts will lead to an increase in demand for the police.

Ron Hogg, the police, crime and victims' commissioner (PCVC) for County Durham and Darlington, made the comments while pledging to work with Darlington Borough Council to mitigate impending cuts to services.

The council this week confirmed £12.5 million of council budget cuts that are set to be approved later this month.

The 1,000-page document details a “four year efficiency plan” which will impact on every department overseen by the authority including social services, health, libraries, street cleaning, children's centres, Christmas lights and floral displays.

An ultimate decision to impose the multi-million pound savings package will be finalised this month despite widespread protests and opposition to the original proposals issued in February.

Mr Hogg said he blamed the Government for the cuts, adding: "The Government talks about local decisions for local people.

"Yet savage reductions to funding for Darlington have put the council in a position where they are having to withdraw funding from important services that help prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, whilst having no discretion over other services because of the law.

"I fear that this situation will create an increase in demand for the police force at a time when our resources are also increasingly tight.

"I am determined to work closely with the council and other members of the Darlington community safety partnership to help address these issues.

"We should take every step to agree common objectives, and share and commission services together to make the very best use of our remaining resources and keep Darlington safe.

"Together, we will ensure that Darlington remains a great place to live, work and do business."

Darlington Borough Council's plans to reduce spending remain largely unchanged from their initial state and more than 111 council staff now face redundancy in the coming months.

A council spokesman said that the final set of budget proposals were necessary after the authority received a lower amount of funding from Central Government – which means the authority must cut £10 million from its budget by 2020, on top of £37.3 million cuts made since 2010.