In a move which is apparently backed by three other constabularies, the head of Surrey Police said he wanted to return to "common sense policing".

Acting chief constable Mark Rowley admitted that his force - currently joint top of the police force league table - would slide down the rankings as a result.

But he said it was not always "sensible" to spend time recording, or issuing penalty notices for the most minor offences.

Instead a return to "common sense" and "discretion" for officers was required he said.

"Quite simply, local people's safety, confidence in police and their satisfaction when they call us for help are more important than misleading targets," he said.

Mr Rowley's comments come after years of concern that centrally formulated targets and red tape were preventing police concentrating on the priorities of the public.

Reports said that other forces backing his stance this weekend would be the Staffordshire, Leicestershire and the West Midlands constabularies.

It has been claimed that police are targeting law-abiding people for minor misdemeanours because it makes it easier to meet government targets.

A pamphlet from right-wing think-tank Civitas said police and the Government risked alienating the public by concentrating on "easy-to-deal-with offending".