The Mayor of London has pledged to keep South Harrow police station, and its front counter, open after hundreds signed a petition to save it.

Fears that Harrow's last remaining police station could close grew amid talks of structural shake-up of Metropolitan Police borough commands.

The police force are still in talks as to decide whether to merge Harrow borough into a single command with Brent and Barnet, but Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has responded to pleas in a draft strategy.

Hundreds of Harrow residents signed a petition in a bid to halt the closure, with Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas gathering more than 700 signatures, and the #FixitHarrowNetwork garnered more than 1,000 supporters in its online petition.

Navin Shah, Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, previously spoke of how residents are "deeply concerned' in the aftermath of the recent knife incident in the town centre, and wrote to the Mayor for help.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick

In response, Mr Khan said the task of policing in London is "made more challenging by funding pressures which mean the MPS need to make over £400m of savings in the next four years".

The Mayor launched a consultation in order to put an additional £10milllion, equivalent to the cost of 170 police constables, into frontline policing in London's communities.

In a letter to Mr Shah, Mr Khan wrote: "Government cuts to the Metropolitan Police services have left me with no choice but to take drastic action.

"The draft strategy sets out that Harrow Police Station and its front counter will be maintained."

Navin Shah sent a plea to the Mayor of London to keep Harrow's police station

Labour Party Mayor Mr Khan also addressed the tri-borough merger, and a recent spate of knife crime in the borough.

He said: "The Commissioner and I will, towards the end of 2017, consider the evidence from the pathfinders and the views of stakeholders, before taking any next steps.

"I was appalled to hear about the serious knife crime incident in Harrow Town centre recently.

"It is incidents like this that we want to reduce through the actions set out in our Knife Crime Strategy."

The Mayor has confirmed that by the end of this year every London ward will have two dedicated ward officers and one Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) to serve local communities.

Residents expressed concern after four men were stabbed outside Harrow-on-the-Hill station

Police activity in Harrow will be targeted at those who carry and use knives, with Harrow’s Integrated Risk Management Unit meeting daily to discuss high risk juveniles involved in gangs and other high risk areas, alongside having proactive units target gang members and knife carriers, assisted by the Sceptre Task Force.

Sadiq Khan also pledged focused work to be carried out in communities, better support for victims of knife crime, tougher sentences and working with retailers to improve training on the law and on the secure storage of knives.

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Mr Shah was "delighted" with the Mayor's positive response to his letter.

He said: "The big and welcome news is that the Mayor has given a commitment that Harrow’s Police Station along with front counter will be maintained.

"I’m delighted that our campaign to save Harrow’s Police Station has paid its dividend.

"I welcome Mayor’s commitment that every ward in Harrow, by end of this year, will have a dedicated team of two officers and one PCSO.

"Local uniformed presence is vital and will no doubt help safety of local areas in Harrow."

However, the assembly member is urging local residents to attend the Met Police’s public consultation meeting in September, to speak out against a borough merger with Brent and Barnet.

The public are invited to take part in the Mayor's public consultation on the Draft Public Access and Engagement Strategy.

Further to this there will be public consultation meetings held across London - with a public consultation meeting expected in Harrow in September.

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