A senior police officer has publicly condemned budget cuts he fears could put cash-strapped Sussex Police "on the road to disaster".

Inspector Brian Stockham, chairman of Sussex Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, branded "preposterous" the force's refusal to rule out hundreds of jobs losses.

He has spoken out in an open letter days before his retirement, which is due next week.

Insp Stockham said Chief Constable Martin Richards told him it was "entirely possible" that as many as 450 police officer posts could be lost.

He said: "As a duly elected representative body, we remain aghast and nonplussed by the remote decisions of our command team to continue down this road contrary to the expressed views of others, which we warn could well be a road to disaster.”

The force is refusing to rule out any option in its attempt to save £35m by 2015 but senior officers said the 450 figure was "sensationalist and unrealistic".

They said it represented the number of posts lost if the whole amount was saved through job cuts, rather than efficiency savings elsewhere.

Senior Federation officials distanced themselves from the quoted figure, which would represent about 14% of the total 3,200 officers in the force, but backed Insp Stockham's calls to halt the loss of posts.

By law police officers cannot be made redundant but forces can downsize by stopping recruitment and leaving vacancies from retirements and departures unfilled.

The need for £35m savings is based on predictions for Government funding running until 2015, as the Treasury grapples with the national debt burden caused by the bank bailout.

Insp Stockham said: "If the public we serve are following the early stages of the general election campaign, they will have seen that senior politicians of all parties have committed to the maintenance of police officer numbers and the government has made clear there is no budgetary pressure on forces to consider otherwise."

Sussex Police Authority, the panel of councillors, magistrates and lay people which oversees the force, announced the loss of 69 officer posts and 13 staff in February, but raised its share of council tax to fund 31 new neighbourhood policing posts.

More than £5m in savings are being made this year and senior commanders around the county are being asked to find cheaper ways to work.

Insp Stockham said literature sent to taxpayers implied Sussex Police was continuing to grow, which he criticised as "disingenous and far from the truth".

He said the 2012 Olympics, and possible political unrest in future, means more, not fewer, police officers will be needed, and called on the authority to make cash available to avoid any further cuts to the force’s officer strength of about 3,200.

Responding to Insp Stockham's claims, Assistant Chief Constable Robin Merrett said: "Public bodies nationwide, including police forces, will undoubtedly face tough financial pressures over the next few years and it would be naïve not to plan for this. However savings are made, our priority is to minimise any impact this could have on the public.

"No decisions have been made to reduce police officer or police staff numbers - any suggested figures are pure speculation and to suggest all savings would come from one area is sensationalist and unrealistic.

"Sussex Police Authority and the force have started detailed work to consider all options to plan the savings that may be required, but no detailed proposals have been made at this stage.

"We are committed to using public money effectively. This includes having the right people in the right places and using officers where they make the most difference. Police staff provide a valuable service to the public in many essential and specialist roles - including people who answer 999 calls, community support officers working locally for you and forensic staff who help solve crime, to name just a few."

Extract from Insp Stockham's letter

“It is preposterous to consider that Sussex can be policed with 2,700 officers. Demands on our officers have never been greater and continue to increase year on year. In addition we are facing a future which is uncertain politically and economically, wherein regardless of major events such as the Olympics in 2012, significant numbers of officers will be needed in the event of public unrest or disputes.

“As a duly elected representative body, we remain aghast and nonplussed by the remote decisions of our command team to continue down this road contrary to the expressed views of others, which we warn could well be a road to disaster. Over the last ten years we have increased the workforce at the rate of two unwarranted police staff for every warranted police Officer, and in this first tranche of cuts we are losing three police officers for every unwarranted police staff member. Whilst we deplore the loss of anyone, this seems perverse in itself.

"We urge the people of Sussex whom we serve to be more aware, particularly as year on year they have paid more through council tax for a better, stronger police force. Reserves are always maintained by a police authority, and have been augmented regularly by Sussex Police Authority, which are usually to prepare for `rainy days’. We will not stand idly by and wait for our officers to be drenched in downpours before more appropriate action is taken.”