THE head of Cumbria's main police union says the county's armed squads should not face cost-cutting, adding rural counties face a greater danger. 

Martin Plummer added the government had to appreciate the sparse, remote nature of some of the rural patches officers policed – and how that affected the work of the officers entrusted with guns. He was speaking after a fellow police representative said officers in rural areas feared they would be "sitting ducks" in a terrorist gun attack. 

Mr Plummer, chairman of Cumbria Police Federation, is representing officers at the national organisation's annual conference in Bournemouth last week.

He addressed the issue of firearms policing in in era when police are facing cost-cutting. 

It was revealed in October that Cumbria's force was facing a new round of massive budget cuts, adding to the millions of pounds saved since 2010. The planned cuts could reach £26m.

Every day throughout the second half of October, the Evening Mail reported on the potential impact, the views of the experts and politicians – and gathered the response from the public. And after two weeks, we accompanied by police representatives and county MPs – delivered a petition backed by 14,471 people to Downing Street.

Mr Plummer said: "What we want is to ensure we have a firearms response and a firearms capability that is suitable for the circumstances.

"We want to ensure that as a county we have that capability. 

"One of the things sometimes looked at is: Can we afford firearms officers? Can we afford the equipment, the constant training? 

"We want to make sure that type of policing is not subject to further police reform so we can protect the community as they would expect." 

Mr Plummer said that if a force had more officers and smaller distances to travel, residents there would be better protected. 

"Westminster has to be appreciative of the rural nature of Cumbria," he added. "We are one of the smallest forces in numbers. We have one of the biggest areas to cover." 

The number of firearms officers in England and Wales last year fell to its lowest level since 1987, national reports say. Mr Plummer, who served as a firearms officer for a number of years, said officers should be treated differently than they are currently in the event of them having to use a firearm. 

He added: "We want police officers to be in a position that if they have to make split-second decisions, that we have the reassurance those officers will be treated as witnesses as opposed to suspects. 

"At the minute, if we pull the trigger protecting the public, we are scrutinised, we have our clothing seized, our weapons seized. We want that to change." 

John Apter, head of the Hampshire branch of the police federation, has warned that a national shortage of armed officers could leave police in isolated areas "unarmed and vulnerable". He said armed officers could be miles away if an attack was launched in a rural area. 

Superintendent Mark Pannone said: “Cumbria has sufficient armed resources based on the current known threat level. There are two armed police forces within the county – the Civil Nuclear Constabulary which protects Sellafield, and Cumbria Constabulary, which has a competent and proportionate capability, available 24 hours a day to keep the public safe.”