Cleveland Police has saved an additional £500,000 as the force keeps a tight rein on spending in the aftermath of the financial difficulties it faced six months ago.

But Chief Constable Sean Price warned members of the police authority the unexpected additional savings were only temporary and would be used up by the end of the financial year.

Speaking at a police authority meeting, he said that despite the encouraging figures there was no room for complacency.

He said: "We are on target with the recovery plan and we are currently exceeding them. Our policing performance is improving and we are keeping to our budget plans.

"It's good news but there is no room for complacency."

Mr Price said he expected the £500,000 underspend to be fully accounted for by the end of the financial year, mainly through fresh intakes of recruits.

In February, the force faced a £7.3m "black hole" in its budget, which led to a huge cost- cutting exercise to balance the books.

A revival budget plan saw the authority looking to make £4m in savings and a one-off £3.1m contribution from reserves. Savings in overtime arte expected to net the force £1.5m in the financial year 2004-2005.