Honiton PCSO Rich Shelton revealed the cuts at the meeting of Honiton Town Council last Monday.

He said: “PCSO numbers are going down to 200 by March 2020.

“That was from a figure of 360 a couple of years ago, across Devon and Cornwall.

“In East Devon now, we currently have nine.

“They are stationed at Honiton, Sidmouth, Seaton and Axminster.

“That figure we believe will go down to five.”

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “The total number of PCSOs across Devon and Cornwall will be 200 by 2020, instead of the original figure which was 150 by 2021.

Chair Andrew Berry said the problem was twofold.

In an unprecedented public warning, the chief constables of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Merseyside forces told the Guardian the fresh cuts would leave them with officer numbers last seen in the 1970s.

Since 2010 the government has cut police funding by 19%. Police in England and Wales have now been told that a £420m pensions shortfall must be met from their already reduced budgets.

After recalculating officers’ pension liabilities, the Treasury decided forces needed to contribute more. Forces are now coming to terms with the impact of the further budget squeeze and anger is mounting.

Ian Hopkins, the chief constable of Greater Manchester, the third biggest force, said he had hoped to have 6,300 officers by the end of March 2021; instead he is likely to have 5,709 – fewer than the force’s 1975 total.

Hopkins told the Guardian: “Clearly we would always look to save money without job cuts, but the reality is 83% of our budget is people and after eight years of efficiencies across all parts of the organisation – which has seen us make reductions of £183m – there would be little alternative but to cut posts, both officers and staff.”

Dave Thompson, the chief constable of the West Midlands force, said agreement was needed on what the police should stop doing. It is an idea discussed privately by police chiefs and done by stealth by some forces.

Thompson leads for the National Police Chiefs’ council on finance and resources and his comments accept standards of service have fallen so badly the police risk becoming ineffective. He said: “The public’s experience is policing that is less visible, less responsive and less proactive.

“Core aspects of policing – such as answering calls, attending emergencies, investigating crime, bringing offenders to justice and neighbourhood policing – are being pushed beyond sustainability, and are in danger of becoming ineffective to the detriment of confidence in the police.”

Thompson took aim at the Conservative government’s approach to policing since they came to power in 2010 to explain the crisis.

He said “the government has had a partial view of policing in the last few years” – very interested in terrorism and high-end threats, but less focused on local crimes.

Those have been left for forces and police and crime commissioners to manage locally amid steep budget cuts, as demands on the police rise. The chief constable said: “This more local agenda has many positives in setting priorities but it has come with steep budget reductions and a widening mission. There has been a real-term reduction of police budgets of 19% since 2010, but ranging between 11- 25% across forces.”

Thompson said the fight against terrorism and serious and organised crime had improved, but added: “The gains we’ve made have come at a cost to perhaps the most important parts of policing for the public.

“Crime is rising and so is the demand on our service. The calls do not get answered as quickly as they did. Officers are not as fast at responding to emergencies and more crimes are dealt with on the phone. Fewer high-volume crimes like thefts are investigated and as a result fewer offenders brought to justice. The visibility and proactivity of neighbourhood policing is much reduced.