Two experienced police officers, who have spent a decade working with schoolchildren, fear youngsters may suffer because of cash cutbacks.

PCs Ian Walmsley and Brian Feather have been forced to retire after a combined 70 years’ service with West Yorkshire Police, as the Force battles with financial restraints.

They worked together for the last ten years as school liaison officers in the Bradford district, going into schools to speak to pupils and teachers and setting up projects for them.

The pair, both aged 52, who have new jobs as full-time cover supervisors at Aire Valley School, said they accepted West Yorkshire Police was having to make cuts.

But Mr Walmsley said: “We were disappointed when we learned we were not being kept on. There are two schools liaison officers still in post in the district, but one is off sick and one is doing other work. We had 150 appointments between January and July, but they haven’t been able to say how many of them will be kept.”

Mr Feather added: “They are in a difficult situation and I don’t know where they are going to go with it. The reason our jobs were created was that somebody decided the police had lost touch with young people.

“We went into schools, stood in front of them and talked to them, dispelling the myths, legends and rumours about the police. The police officers they are going to meet now are those on the street if they have fallen foul of the law.”

Andrew Tempest-Mitchell, vice-chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: “These two experienced officers are being shed to balance the financial books. This is an example of how budget constraints will affect communities in the future.

“The loss of these two officers will be immense. They have provided a valuable service and been extremely good role models for the young people. Such a loss will have a negative impact on the community.”

Mr Walmsley, a married father-of-two, of Little Horton, joined West Yorkshire Police as a cadet in 1974. He worked on the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry, was a community officer at Holme Wood for nine years, and a mounted section officer for a similar period of time.

Mr Feather, of West Bowling, who is married with five children, joined the Force in 1977 and worked mainly as a road traffic officer until taking a school liaison role in 1993.

The pair began working as a team at schools throughout the Bradford district in 2001. Mr Feather said their best achievement was keeping the Alhambra Project going for 15 years.

“A lot of young people have gained a lot of self esteem and confidence doing that project,” he said.

West Yorkshire Police Authority chairman, Councillor Mark Burns-Williamson, said all the 30 plus contracts, which the two officers were on, were being reviewed.

He said: “We try to accommodate those officers who want to carry on. Clearly, because of the financial pressures we are under, it is something we are having to consider, and probably discontinue some of them.”