Merton Council will decide on Wednesday whether it will formally oppose a proposal to close Wimbledon police station.

This comes after London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced a public consultation into cutting front counters in police stations.

A petition to save the station has since been launched which received more than 3,000 signatures.

Submitted by Merton’s Conservative councillors, the motion said: "This council recognises the very considerable concern among residents in Merton about the Mayor of London’s proposal to close Wimbledon police station and sell the land.

"This council believes that the police station is well located in Wimbledon town centre, which has a large night-time economy (the largest in the borough) and is a major south west London transport hub that needs policing."

The front desk in Queen's Road is the only 24/7 counter in Merton, and is one of 41 stations across London that face the chop if plans are finalised. The mayor's office said just eight per cent of crimes across the city are reported to the desks, down from 22 per cent in 2006.

According to the mayor's statistics, an average of 2.6 crimes were reported each day in May 2017 at the Wimbledon front desk, compared to 0.7 crimes reported over the same period at Mitcham station.

Under the plans, the Wimbledon town centre building will be sold and services moved to Mitcham.