Police Scotland officers took over 140,000 sick days due to psychological problems

Police Scotland officers and staff suffering from psychological problems took 141,230 sick days between 2013 and 2016, new figures shows.

Data released to the Liberal Democrats under Freedom of Information laws also reveal that 54,019 working days were lost by civilian staff, who cited psychological problems.

MPs said the figures showed police officers were being "stretched to breaking point".

Liam McArthur, the Scottish Liberal Democrats justice spokesman, said officers and civilian staff were not being given adequate support from the Scottish government.

"The savings that were promised by the SNP before the creation of Police Scotland have not materialised," he said.

"As a result, officers and civilian staff are being asked to do more and more with less. With the chief constable warning that further cuts are coming, the pressure on staff is only likely to get worse."

Mr McArthur added: "We have already seen staff surveys which show morale is at rock bottom. The shortages are affecting the health of officers and civilian staff, and these new figures are a huge concern."

A Scottish government spokesman said Police Scotland would be expected to have "robust" polices in place to support staff at work.

"They have a number of targeted activities to support wellbeing and occupational health across the organisation," the spokesman added.

"We have committed to protecting the police revenue budget in real terms, safeguarding policing from Westminster budget cuts, and delivering an additional £100m of investment by the end of this parliament, in addition to £55m of reform funding in 2016-17."