POLICE forces across the region are to get an extra £21m from the Government next year.

Cash-strapped Cleveland Police will get £4.1m more. However, last night Chief Constable Sean Price said it would still leave a £5m to £7m funding black hole.

The shortfall could impact on council taxpayers, but Mr Price said the force did not want to overburden people in the area.

An alternative is to cut recruitment of new staff - but Mr Price said the number of officers on the front line would not be affected.

Cleveland will get £90.9m from the Government in 2005-2006, an increase of 4.7 per cent; Durham Police will get £87.8m, an increase of 4.3 per cent, or £3.6m; North Yorkshire Police is to be given £75.4m, an increase of 3.7 per cent, or £2.7m; and Northumbria will get £232.2m, an increase of 4.9 per cent, or £10.8m.

Mr Price said: "We welcome this increase, it will be put to good use.

"We thought we would get a three per cent increase, so we are happy. However, it isn't going to close the gap in next year's funding. There will be some hard decisions we have to make.

"We are talking about making some changes next year and we are going to have to look at the phasing of recruitment to make some of the savings we need to make.

"We are looking at moving some officers from back rooms to the front line.

"Clearly, we have council taxpayers we can look at but that is very unpopular and we don't want to burden people in the area."

A spokesman for Durham Police said it was too early to tell how the extra money would impact on the force, or council taxpayers.

However, he said: "The force's finances are in healthy order because of the prudent book-keeping we have been doing for years. We have a significant reserve."