More than £9 million has been paid to Police Scotland over the past year by different organisations to cover the costs of hundreds of officers across the country.

The Scottish Conservatives, who obtained the figures, warned yesterday that officer numbers could come under threat if the groups became unhappy and withdrew the money.

Edinburgh City Council, which provides £2.7 million said last year that they were considering cutting £500,000 because, since the creation of Police Scotland, it no longer has influence over how these officers are deployed.

About £9.3 million came from bodies such as local authorities, the Scottish Government and private firms to supply 377 police officers.

The Tories have warned that the removal of external funding could jeopardise the Scottish Government's commitment to maintain an extra 1,000 police officers. This political pledge means officer numbers have to be at or above 17,234.

During the first five months of the new single force in 2013 there was a 49% increase in officers leaving the service - excluding those who left due to retirement, ill health or end of service - when compared with the same time period in 2012.

Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont MSP said: "Police Scotland's budget is already under severe pressure, and constraints are harming the frontline with the closure of service desks.

"That will become a whole lot worse if any of the millions of pounds worth of annual funding is pulled by these organisations.

"If the Scottish Government doesn't ensure the single force has the money in place to maintain the extra 1,000 officers, there could be more damaging cuts in the pipeline."

A force spokesman welcomed the support it received, adding: "If there are specific issues with the funding of officers by specific partner agencies, we will enter into discussions with them."