A HUNDRED police officer jobs will be cut in Essex next year.

Essex Police has seen its Government grant cut by another £8.5million in 2015/16 taking the force ever closer to £100million cuts in six years.

Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said: "We face some unprecedented decisions about how we police the county and keep people safe with less money.

"In deciding how best to do this, protecting people from serious harm, reducing crime and bringing offenders to justice must be at the forefront of our thinking."

"Regrettably it is the case that we will be policing Essex with a smaller workforce.

"The number of police officers in the county will fall over the next few years and there will be changes in the way in which PCSOs and police staff provide invaluable support to frontline policing.

"With about 84 per cent of the overall policing budget spent on the salaries of police officers, PCSOs and police staff, the reduction in budget means that there will be a reduction in the overall size of the Essex Police workforce in 2015/16.

"Our best sense is there will be a further reduction in police officer posts next year of just over 100.

"The force has already planned for a reduction in the overall number of PCSOs to 250 by the end of 2015/16."

See the full story in tomorrow's newspaper.