SICK leave cost North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service £68,000 in one month last year, according to a report.

But fire authority bosses said a tough new policy has brought the figures down below their target level.

Assistant chief fire officer and director of human resources Colin Chadfield will present a human resources update to the fire authority audit, performance and review committee on Friday.

His report says that if the sickness rate in April last year had continued for the rest of that year, it would have produced an annual rate of more than 18 days per person, compared with a target of 8.85 days.

This absence is estimated to have cost about £68,000.

The Audit Commission reviewed the authority's policies and procedures and a new sickness policy was introduced in October.

By December, the rate was 9.1 sick days per person, per year, at a cost of £34,500. By March this year, the rate had fallen to six days per person, per year, at a cost of £22,500.

Mr Chadfield said: "Ill health absence at the beginning of the year was running at a particularly high rate.

"This appeared to be related to the problems associated with the extended industrial dispute.

"The policy has had a big effect very quickly. We can monitor sickness and so we can pick up on any trends.

"We picked up on a bunch of individuals and sat them down and had a good talk.

"The sickness rate has now fallen through the floor and the intention is to keep the figures down at the target of 8.85 days."

The brigade is about to introduce a system for recording sickness that allows managers to compare their sickness rates to those at other stations.

Well person clinics are being run to allow firefighters to discuss any health issues and identify potential problems sooner.

Among the other findings in the human resources report is a 325 per cent increase in reported off-duty accidents, at an estimated cost to the brigade of £60,000 .

This has been attributed to a change in the definition of the causes of accidents