THE massive hunt for Hobson and extensive investigation into his horrendous crimes ran up a massive bill for North Yorkshire Police.

Deputy Chief Constable Roger Baker revealed that the total cost so far to the force was £690,000.

And he indicated there was little prospect of any extra financial assistance from the Government to help meet the bill, saying it would have to come from "core funding".

The statistics of the investigation are staggering.

It involved a total of 516 officers from 12 different forces.

While Hobson was on the run, officers had to check out nearly 1,800 reported sightings, many in North Yorkshire but others from as far away as New Zealand, California, Ireland and France.

More than 1,300 homes were visited, more than 1,600 exhibits were collected and 1,205 statements taken. The inquiry generated a staggering total of 17,500 documents.

Some of the reported sightings sparked major searches by large numbers of officer of areas of North Yorkshire, for example along riverbanks at Aldwark, near Boroughbridge, and Abbots Road, Selby.

Police have also revealed that during the manhunt, they feared several other people's lives were under serious threat.

Officers found the names of an undisclosed number of individuals written down on a piece of paper in Hobson's flat and, fearing that he might also be planning to murder them, provided them with 24-hour armed guards.

Updated: 13:54 Tuesday, April 19, 2005