Mr Burbeck leads English smallest county force and backs the merger

Warwickshire and West Midlands Police have now backed an enlarged force to serve the 5.2m people in he region.

Staffordshire was already backing the review, which will see similar mergers in other parts of England.

But West Mercia Police, serving the huge rural area of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, wants to be allowed to remain on its own.

Warwickshire is the smallest county police force in England and Wales - only the tiny City of London Police force is smaller. Warwickshire has been the subject of merger gossip for years because of its small size.

Existing forces, population served (number of police officers) Staffordshire 1,058,269 (2,320) Warwickshire 506,200 (1,007) West Mercia 1,200,000 (2,369) West Mids 2,630,000 (8,057)

Warwickshire's chief constable Chief Constable John Burbeck said: "The proposed new force, with 15,000 officers, would be better equipped to share intelligence, deal with serious crime and the threat of terrorism.

"If we are going to improve policing in this part of the country we need to be part of a strategic force because it is the only way we will have the capability to deliver local policing while also tackling crime and major incidents."

Each police authority has to give a formal response to the Home Office by next Friday. Each of the new forces must have at least 4,000 officers.

West Midlands' chief constable Paul Scott-Lee said: "A single, strategic force serving the whole region gives us a unique opportunity to achieve the best of both worlds by meeting simultaneously the twin requirements of neighbourhood policing and protective services."

Staffordshire Police Authority chair Mike Poulter said previously of a large regional force: "In my view, this would be a strong, resilient organisation with enhanced capabilities."