A "vast swathe" of the area will be left without an appropriate police presence when Waltham House Police station is closed, according to John Cryer MP.

In an open letter to the borough commander of Waltham Forest and Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the MP for Leyton and Wanstead csaid he is "deeply disappointed" by the decision to close the police station in Kirkdale Road in Leytonstone.

Describing it as "something of a shock", Mr Cryer said he was repeatedly assured that the station would remain open.

“This leaves Leytonstone without any police station. Wanstead has also shut and been sold, apparently, so a vast swathe of north-east London is without a police station,” he added.

“The Leyton custody suite obviously has a front desk, but as there are no signs to indicate a police presence – despite my repeated requests to you and other officers – many Leyton and Leytonstone residents do not have the faintest idea that a police presence exists on that site.

“I always try to maintain a positive relationship with the Metropolitan Police but this latest event is deeply disappointing.”

The Met says the reason for the closure is costs, but the MP argued that somewhere else in the south of the borough should be found with a lower rent.

For more on this story, see next week's Guardian.