POLICE move into new headquarters in Horwich next month.

The purpose-built station is next to Bolton Arena at Middlebrook and will be home to police officers covering the new Bolton West area.

Staff will move in on October 25, but it will not be officially opened until Friday November 26. The ceremony is expected to be performed by a senior government official.

The new "deployment" centre will replace 19th-century police stations in Horwich and Westhoughton which are not designed for modern policing.

The location of the new base was chosen because it provides easy access to all parts of the Bolton West police area, which includes Horwich, Westhoughton, Blackrod, Heaton, Smithills, Lostock and Over Hulton.

In addition to the new police headquarters, there will be a one-stop police shop in Pavilion Square in Westhoughton.

A similar unit is also planned for Horwich, but a suitable site has yet to be found.

Insp Simon Miskell, who is in charge of the Bolton West police division, said he wanted to reassure residents that the old stations would not close until the new ones were open.

He said: "We will eventually have three police stations, instead of two. It will be a big improvement and the people of Horwich and Westhoughton will reap the benefits.

"The new deployment centre means we will also need more staff and we will be getting more officers as part of GMP's project to increase the number of officers in the force to 8,000.

"The old stations are not suitable any more, not just for the level of staff we currently employ, but also they are not equipped for the modern technology we use.

"The most important thing to stress is that the police presence will not be reduced, but rather increased."