Richmond and Kingston’s police forces could merge in the near future, according to Tony Arbour, London Assembly member for Kingston, Richmond and Hounslow.

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Mr Arbour, who is also councillor for Hampton Wick, said a new setup could see policing of both boroughs under one chief superintendent, and could begin after May’s Mayoral elections.

The custody suite at Kingston Police Station is already used by Richmond’s officers, and Mr Arbour said: “I would predict that Richmond and Kingston will be merging completely.

“There is already a lot of cooperation and they were together along with Esher before the Met was established.”