REDBRIDGE'S borough commander has said she cannot guarantee that either of Wanstead and Woodford's two police stations will remain open.

At a meeting last night (Friday) Det Ch Supt Sue Williams said a report outlining which of the Metropolitan Police's 800 buildings the force planned to sell would be presented to the Mayor’s office in September.

She told the public meeting at St Mary's Church in the High Road, South Woodford: "We all have to plan for the eventuality (that stations may close).

“There is a choice here, if we do not make these savings on our police building stock then those savings have to come from elsewhere.

“Some of our police staff in the borough have already exited through voluntary redundancies and there will be compulsory redundancies coming up for some of them.

"If we do not sell off some of the police building stock then we will have to start thinking about losing police officers.”

Fears were raised that Wanstead police station could be sold off when DCS Williams said that some older buildings from the 1870s and 1880s were no longer fit for the needs of the modern police force.

And ominously, she said safer neighbourhood teams could operate out of Leytonstone because of its proximity to Wanstead.

Monkhams ward councillor Linda Huggett said she was concerned by the news that Woodford police station was currently closed because of a staff holiday.

She said: “It is absolutely vital that we maintain a police presence in Woodford.

“If the police station is going to close then we want to know.”