A TEESSIDE MP has welcomed the Government's money handout for Cleveland Police, but warns the force cannot afford any more financial slip-ups.

Hartlepool MP Iain Wright believes the decision to provide the force with a £6.3m lifeline was made for the benefit of residents and not the police authority.

He said: "I have no sympathy with the incompetence that brought Cleveland Police to this sorry state, facing a £7m shortfall through, frankly, terrible financial management.

"But I am glad that Home Office Minister Hazel Blears acknowledges that Chief Constable Sean Price inherited this situation through no fault of his own, and that at the end of the day it would be law-abiding citizens who would suffer if policing were to be reduced."

The £2m-a-year boost is intended to ensure the force's finances remain on a firm footing.

"I am also glad that the money comes with conditions attached, which are that Cleveland Police improve both it's policing and detection figures, and gets its act together to ensure that such a calamity never happens again," he said.

"Such a move by the Home Office is unprecedented and I am grateful for it on behalf of Hartlepool residents. But the Police Authority has to understand that this will never be repeated and to use this windfall very wisely indeed."