CUMBRIA police force's budget is being slashed by more than any other force in the country.

An error in the formula used to calculate police budget cuts means Cumbria's emergency service is facing an additional £5.8million of cuts on top of what has already been announced.

The mistake has been met with strong opposition from Tim Farron MP, who has called for an immediate national enquiry into the matter.

Mr Farron, who wrote to Keith Vaz MP, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee demanding answers, said: "In rural communities like ours, these cuts will mean the end of proper community policing and will make our county a much less safe place to be.

“Cumbria Police are outstanding and they do not deserve this devastating blow. This error now means that Cumbria would face additional cuts – these aren’t just numbers, this means we will be losing even more officers from Cumbria’s streets and villages."

The force was already likely to lose £9.5million (16 per cent) of its budget under the proposed changes to the funding formula and is forecasting another £11.5million reduction to be announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) announcement at the end of November.

Coming on top of the £20million already saved, these cuts mean that policing resources in Cumbria will have fallen by £46million over a ten year period to 2019/20.