Cash-strapped police officers face losing their motorcycles, driving smaller cars and paying for damage to force vehicles out of their own area budgets, as bosses strive to cut costs.

Government inspectors have told senior North Yorkshire Police officers to further tighten their belts and offer residents better value for money.

The efficiency drive comes alongside last year's police precept rise of 76 per cent, the highest in England and Wales, which produced an extra £13 million for investment and modernisation.

But the force, which is said to be planning a more modest precept rise for next year, still faces a challenging financial future, as pension costs spiral and resources are stretched to the limit. A report by Barry Coker, of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, targets expensive canteen costs, vehicle maintenance bills and poor analysis of what bobbies actually do each day. He wants to see North Yorkshire Police carefully monitor all of its activities so that comparisons can be made between services year-on-year, and savings made.

Regarding vehicles, Mr Coker suggests:

Reducing the number of police motorcycles. They are more expensive to run than cars

Increasing the proportion of diesel-fuelled cars from half to 80 per cent

Introducing an excess charge of up to £500 for command units involved in "blameworthy" accidents

Making officers use smaller patrol cars, such as Ford Fiestas, for local beats.

The wide-ranging report, which was compiled just last month, also criticises the low-level of business sponsorship for police activities and the lack of a centralised record of income from such sources.

Chief Constable Della Cannings said the report was encouraging because it recognised the "current difficulties and inadequate systems" and the need of the force to prioritise in certain areas.

She said: "Many of the issues faced by the force are as a result of under-investment, budget cuts or inadequate planning resulting from the lack of a long-term strategy. It is accepted that there will be continuing pressure to reduce funding, and that the relentless rise in costs and particularly that of pensions drives the need for continuous improvement."

Updated: 09:58 Saturday, November 01, 2003