The Home Office said claims of job losses were premature

Council tax payers in the West Midlands force area pay less towards police than those in the West Mercia, Staffordshire and Warwickshire forces.

Paul Deneen fears the government may block council tax rises large enough to meet the funding needs of a merged super-force.

The Home Office called claims of job losses "premature scaremongering".

'Huge headache'

The West Mercia Police Authority's treasurer Mike Weaver said the government's promise that council taxpayers would not have to pay more for a merged force would leave a shortfall of �220m.

Speaking at what could be West Mercia Police Authority's last annual meeting, Mr Deneen called it "a huge headache".

He said: "Far from the promised extra cash to invest in policing services, we appear to be staring a huge financial crisis in the face.

"I feel incredibly short-changed by a Home Office that is out of touch with local communities and dismissive of the successes of one of the best performing forces (West Mercia) in the country."

It is premature scaremongering to claim harmonisation of precepts would lead to the loss of police posts Home Office spokeswoman

In a statement, the Home Office said it is working to resolve the issue of how much council tax would be given over to a merged super-force.

Currently each council gives separate amounts of funding (precepts) to their individual police forces.

A spokeswoman said: "No final decisions have been reached, so it is premature scaremongering to claim harmonisation of precepts would lead to the loss of police posts."

The three chief constables of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands police forces also condemned West Mercia's viewpoint saying the conclusions were hypothetical and could undermine the confidence of the current workforce.

The Home Office wants fewer, larger forces in England and Wales to tackle serious and organised crime more effectively.