Policing in Somerset is resting on a knife edge, new figures have revealed, with one in seven officers planning to leave Avon and Somerset Constabulary within two years.

The survey was carried out by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), who said police officers are reaching a "breaking point" and leaving the service due to pay and work conditions.

They found that 14% of the 784 officers in Avon and Somerset Constabulary who responded, said they were planning to leave the service, or are actively looking for new jobs.

About 4% said they intended to resign from the force within the next two years and 10% stated they are already looking for other employment. This is up from the previous survey in 2021, when 13% of officers said they were planning to resign. The main reasons cited for officers wanting to leave the service were morale (89%), pay (75%) and the impact of the job on their mental health and well-being (74%).

The survey also showed 52% of the area's officers said they had a low or very low level of morale - down from 59% in 2021.

Other findings from Avon and Somerset Police:

• 93% said they do not feel the government respects them and 76% said they do not feel respected by the public.
• 84% indicated that they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months
• 68% said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been 'too high' or 'much too high'
• 87% felt that they were worse off financially than they were five years ago.
• 21% reported 'never' or 'almost never' having enough money to cover all their essentials.
• 19% reported that they had suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the last year.

PFEW National Chair Steve Hartshorn said: "Police officers are reaching breaking point and are leaving the service in their droves as every element of their pay and conditions has been gradually eroded in the space of a decade.

"Record numbers are resigning over inadequate pay and conditions. We are losing some exceptional officers simply because they cannot afford to stay in the service with an alarming number unable to afford monthly essentials.

"Otherwise, the profession will remain at risk and the disillusionment of our colleagues will deepen, the government must act.

"Being able to protect the public effectively, rests on a knife edge. Without sufficient investment in policing, we will see a further detrimental rise in resignations, and officers will not be able to keep up with the new technology innovations criminals use, will not be able to stretch resources to attend all crimes, and, ultimately, will not be able to keep our communities safe from the rise in violent crime."