SHOCKED residents who complained that their local police station was set to close to save cash have been told by officers: “If you want to keep it, run it yourselves.”

The astonishing offer was made at a Quinton police committee meeting on Monday night.

Sgt Jeff Doak told the gathering that the station on Quinton Road West would be shut to general enquiries from September.

He said that was when the uniformed officer who currently manned the front counter would be redeployed.

“This decision has not been made lightly. I don’t want the front office closed, but they [the Local Policing Unit chiefs] have decided that Quinton’s front office is not a priority,” he said.

“But as part of David Cameron’s Big Society they would like members of the public to work there on a voluntary basis.”

Birmingham South LPU Insp Mick Palmer said the decision to shut the station in the crime hit suburb was down to ‘pure economics’.

“Only four to six people a day go into the front office. The officer spends, on average, 20 minutes per person, which equates to just three hours of the of their time,” he said.

“So, to me, that isn’t the best use of resources.”

He said the station would continue to be used by police officers, but as far as the public was concerned, it would become a “drop in centre” or a “community roadshow”. The volunteers will not have access to the computers or any confidential files or any other part of the station apart from the front counter,” he said.