Ministers say merging will improve efficiency

Only one of the five mergers proposed - Lancashire and Cumbria - was approved by the police authorities involved.

An Association of Police Authorities (APA) spokesman said: "Pretty much everyone is against it."

Mr Clarke had said merging forces would make them more efficient in fighting terrorism and crime but the association said they should work together instead.

'Momentous'

Mr Clarke met the police authorities to outline his plans and to give them until 24 February to voluntarily agree to them.

But only Lancashire and Cumbria have agreed to join together to make up one of the new larger forces in the North West.

Cumbria police authority chairman Reg Watson described it as a "momentous decision".

"The new constabulary will be much better placed to deal with the changing nature of criminality," he said.

The voluntary merger will be presented to parliament in May and the merger could take effect in April next year.

There has been no debate, no listening to local people or examining of all the options Dave McLuckie Cleveland police authority chairman

But the votes against his plans mean Mr Clarke may force them through after a four-month consultation period beginning on 1 March.

Among the other proposals, which were rejected, was for a new larger West Midlands force made up of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands.

Cleveland voted against merging with Durham and Northumbria to become a North East force.

And Merseyside said "no" to merging with Cheshire, likewise the Welsh forces resisted merging into one force covering Wales.

Cleveland police authority chairman Dave McLuckie described the proposals as "ill-judged, deeply-flawed - and exactly the opposite of what local people want".

He added: "There has been no debate, no listening to local people or examining of all the options - something which the prime minister, himself a North East MP, said should happen."

Shadow police reform minister Nick Herbert said the prime minister had promised mergers would not be forced through, so Mr Clarke should drop the plans and focus on getting police on to the streets.