The police control room in Hertfordshire has been saved from the axe after bosses from the three counties decided to close anther office.

Fears the facility in Welwyn Garden City may close have been removed after a merger of the hubs has left the county and Cambridgeshire with the facilities. with Bedfordshire losing out.

The decision to close the Bedford control room was made at a meeting of the Police and Crime Commissioners of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire last Thursday.

The move is expected to save around £4 million, and follows on from the sharing of other operational functions by the forces.

The force control rooms will deal with 101 and 999 calls from the public, deploy officers and staff plus ensure the recording and appropriate early investigation of crime or anti-social behaviour from March 2017.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, David Lloyd said: “This initiative will help modernise our response to the public of Hertfordshire from our existing Control Room in Welwyn Garden City, providing a better service through improved technology and earlier resolution to matters that people need to contact us about.

“The development of on-line access to key services is the realisation of a key aim of my Police and Crime plan, whilst the savings produced by this collaboration will help to continue the protection of Neighbourhood Policing throughout Hertfordshire.”

Chief Constable Andy Bliss said budget challenges led to the decision. He said: "I want the public to be able to contact us readily in a variety of ways that suit their needs.

"And I want my front line teams to get the best possible support out on the streets especially when they are tackling crime and protecting the public in challenging or dangerous situations where immediate access to information really counts.

"Hertfordshire leads on this major development supported by talented colleagues from across the three forces. This is a vital part of our aim to sustain our unique style of neighbourhood policing in Hertfordshire and to do all that we can to keep people safe and fight crime. ”

Staff will be formally consulted on the proposals once the detailed design phase is complete.