The closure of Sutton police station’s custody suite – where suspects are taken in after being arrested – has been “paused”.

Sutton Guardian was previously told by Sutton police it would be shutting this past weekend on Sunday (January 20) as the borough’s force merges with Bromley and Croydon soon.

However, they have now said the custody suite’s closure has been “paused” for the time being - meaning it's still open.

No reason why this is has been revealed as yet.

FROM LAST WEEK: Sutton police station's custody suite to close this weekend

A Sutton police spokesman said he is “yet to receive further information on when the date will now be” but hopes for more details later this week.

Sutton Guardian was first told the custody suite would be closing in “early 2019” last August, and then this past Sunday, before the plans were put on hold.

It comes as Bromley, Croydon and Sutton boroughs soon merge together as one borough command unit (BCU) under Scotland Yard’s huge policing shake-up.

EARLIER: Sutton police station's custody suite to shut amid borough policing shake-up

At the time it was said that, once the custody suite in Sutton was closed, suspects would be taken to a different facility in Windmill Road, Croydon.

The Sutton facility was once shared with Merton police up until their merger with Kingston, Richmond and Wandsworth’s forces, meaning they have shifted their prisoner processing to other custody suites in south west London.

Once Bromley, Croydon and Sutton complete their merge they will become a south BCU, however, a specific date is unknown at this time.

A custody suite is an area within a police station where officers process people who have been arrested.

This can involve cells for prisoners, interview rooms, and offices where documents are filled out, for example.