It is “terrifying” that police forces in England and Wales are projected to lose 10,000 officers a year, the Chair of Cumbria Police Federation has said.

Ed Russell was speaking after Tiff Lynch, Acting Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), wrote a column in The Times saying that the police exodus over low pay was a “public safety catastrophe”.

Tiff wrote: “We are on track to lose 10,000 officers a year. The proportion of officers with less than five years' experience has jumped by a third since 2019. We are haemorrhaging talent, as long-serving officers walk away because they simply can't afford to stay.”

Cumbria Police Federation Chair Ed Russell backed the PFEW, adding that the 10,000 figure was not “plucked out of thin air” but based on existing national trends.

He said: “This, frankly, is terrifying. Policing is an extremely difficult vocation, requiring exceptional interpersonal skills, legal knowledge and its application, risk management, and complex operational planning. This is all alongside significant disruptions to officers' personal lives.

“These skills do not develop overnight, and the attrition of skills and knowledge Is becoming exponential. In policing we target, recruit and employ the best possible candidates we can, and then pay them a little over minimum wage. Officers are demoralised and have frankly copped enough.”