It follows an entry on the Police Facebook site stating the premises were no longer open to the public.

The post, which led to a flurry of criticism on social media, was misleading and should not have appeared, according to Mr. Surl.

He said,

“Although there is no full time receptionist at Quedgeley, the police regularly work from there and it is often used for training. If an officer is inside when a member of the public knocks on the door I expect them to answer. The same applies to Hucclecote and any other police station in the county.

“I raised this issue with the Chief Constable recently and she agrees with me and yet I have still not received a satisfactory explanation why a message implying the opposite should have gone on Facebook.

“Let’s be honest, we would all like to go back to a time when all those police stations the county used to have were still open but due to circumstances beyond our control – and these have been well documented by me and others in the past – we cannot. That’s why the Constabulary is about to launch its new operating model which relies heavily on new equipment that doesn’t tie officers to a few key locations and will keep them on patrol for longer.

“But the police stations that remain still have a role to play and I made a promise not to close any more.

 “If the police want to close any of them they have to make a case to me and to the public. There is a statuary process to follow and they know that”