POLICE officers feel as if they have been "screwed" over changes to their pensions and believe the government is "getting the police service it deserves" as officers say they have never seen so many of their colleagues leaving the force.

Six serving and retired police officers and detectives have spoken to The Mail about their experience in light of a national Police Federation survey which revealed three in five feel undervalued.

The poll of 30,000 officers found 60.2 per cent said their morale was low – nearly five per cent more than last year. There was also an increase in the number planning to leave the service within the next two years (12.3 per cent compared to 11.8 per cent).

One retired Barrow police officer said it was "no wonder" that his former colleagues feel undervalued.

"The government is getting the police service it deserves," he added.

"Unfortunately the side effect of that is that the public are not. The men and women who don the uniform are damned if they do and damned if they don't."

Another uniformed officer, who currently works out of Barrow police station, has seen drastic changes made to his pension and retirement age.

In 2015, the then final value pension scheme was replaced by a career average salary model in a move the government described as being "fairer to those on lower salaries who do not progress to higher salary positions".

The retirement age was also increased to 60 whereas previously officers retired after 30 years' service or when they reached the age of 55 – whichever came first.

Although those closest to retirement age are protected from the changes, many younger officers have seen their retirement age increased and projected pension value decreased.

The Barrow officer affected by the changes added: "I think we are reaching a tipping point. I've never known a time when so many were leaving at once."

One other serving officer said many of his colleagues felt they had been "screwed on the pension changes which had been 'steam-rollered' through against their will".

Another retired uniformed officer agreed and said "morale has gone down dramatically over the last 10 years... I've never known it where people are treated in such a way that they want to get out".

Martin Plummer joined the police force in 1989 and now represents officers in Cumbria in his role as chairman of the Cumbria Police Federation.

He used to dread the thought of retiring but now admits he "can't wait".

"It's nothing to do with Cumbria Constabulary and this lack of morale isn't to do with local management; their hands are tied by the distinct lack of investment from the government," he said as he described the local officers' comments as a "very fair reflection of what officers in Cumbria feel".

"For us to provide the service the public deserves and expects there has to be investment and that needs to be in ground roots policing – police constables.

"When a major incident happens on a regional or national level the government are the first to praise the police but that falls on deaf ears because all our officers are seeing is the erosion of pay and conditions."

Deputy Chief Constable Michelle Skeer said: “Every day, police officers operate in a dangerous and stressful work environment that involves putting themselves in harm’s way to keep people safe, and as employers we have a duty to help officers manage the impact this has on their psychological health and wellbeing.

“A force-wide wellbeing strategy has been introduced which concentrates on the individual and offer a range of support programmes. Bespoke training has also been issued to managers in order to identify any wellbeing issues at an early stage.

“We will continue to regularly review our approach to the wellbeing of our staff to support them in their role.

“It is no secret that all police forces are working through a challenging financial time, however our officers and staff remain committed to keeping the public safe.”