AROUND 200 police officers from Dorset joined yesterday’s march against cuts in London.

They joined colleagues from around the country who are angry at cuts to budgets and staffing numbers.

Speaking to the Daily Echo from the march, Clive Chamberlain, chairman of Dorset Police Federation, said: “The official figure for the amount of people who turned up is 32,000.

“As much as the Government have tried to say we’re marching for pay and conditions, we’re actually marching because we have serious concerns about policing and what’s going to happen to our communities.

“None of us want to have an argument with the Government because it’s unpleasant, but our main issue is we’re concerned that losing 16,000 officers nationally is quite worrying.”

Officers marched on their days off because they are not allowed to strike.