Police representatives in North Yorkshire angered at a change to the way officers are paid are to take their case to the High Court.

They are to seek a judicial review after the county's Police Authority voted to pay officers monthly, instead of four-weekly, as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

It is feared the move, which goes against the views of the majority of officers and support staff, will depress morale among the ranks.

Bob Humpleby, chairman of the North Yorkshire branch of the Police Federa-tion, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the majority of officers and support staff favoured the current system and saw no reason to change the status quo.

He said a ballot of the whole of the police service in the county showed that nearly 70 per cent of respondents wanted to be keep being paid four-weekly.

But at a meeting on Monday, in Leyburn, 15 out of 16 Police Authority members voted move to monthly pay.

Mr Humpleby said: "We shall now be seeking a judicial review on this decision.

"They have the power to change the pay periods but we would argue that they must have regard for the feelings of the workforce.

"Why did they ballot the workforce and then ignore the results?

"They must look at the wider issue of the general morale of the force which at pres-ent is not good."

Mr Humpleby said that had the move from four-weekly to monthly pay resulted in big cash savings for the force, staff may be able to understand it.

"But this move would only save tens of thousands of pounds, and this is in a force which repeatedly underspends on its budget," he said.

North Yorkshire police spokesman Chief Inspector Ron Johnson said the proposal to change the wages system had been recommended primarily as a cost-cutting initiative during the recent boundary and structure review.

He said it would cut down on administra-tive costs as payments would only have to be processed 12 times a year, rather than 13 as at present.

Ch Insp Johnson declined to comment on the Police Federation's decision to seek a judicial review.