4 March 2013 Last updated at 11:10 ET

Cumbria Police stations sold off for £1m

The "picturesque" station in Cockermouth was one of the buildings sold

Seven police stations around Cumbria have been sold for almost £1m, the area's police and crime commissioner (PCC) has confirmed.

Cumbria PCC Richard Rhodes said the decision to sell the buildings was taken by the former police authority for cost and operational reasons.

Stations in Alston, Ambleside, Cockermouth, Kirkby Stephen, Milnthorpe, Millom and Sedbergh sold for a total of £973,000.

Five others are still available.

When the sale plan was announced in 2011, the police authority said policing had changed and the public did not visit stations as often as they used to.

Then chairman Ray Cole said: "The number of people visiting stations has also been in steady decline for many years, with members of the community preferring to contact police via phone and email."