NORTH Yorkshire's chief constable was yesterday challenged to justify an 11 per cent increase in the amount the force receives from the public purse.

Della Cannings attended a public meeting at the Colburn Health and Recreation Centre, one of a series held as the police authority prepares to set its budget for 2004.

She said that a controversial 76 per cent rise in the police precept last year had helped galvanise the force.

Fifty-two new community support officers now supplemented a record number of regular police across North Yorkshire, while new community offices had opened in Thirsk, Bedale and Hawes.

And Operation Delivery, launched in September, had netted a 19 per cent increase in arrests and a 52 per cent increase in detected crimes.

Mrs Cannings said the force had also invested in new technology and improved the way it handled calls.

She said: "However, we are not saying it ends here; there is definitely more to be done."

Roger Harrison-Topham, of Wensleydale, and Barton councillor Campbell Dawson were among a number to report continued dissatisfaction with police performance in the countryside.

Mrs Cannings said an 11 per cent increase this year would help pay for 16 more community police officers in rural areas and allow police stations to remain open longer.

John McGough, of Age Concern, criticised another potential rise in the precept, saying that pensioners were already struggling to keep pace with rising tax demands.

He said: "All over the country, they are asking is it fair? The police talk about cost pressures but what about the cost pressures for pensioners?''

Police authority member and Richmondshire councillor Michael Heseltine, who chaired the forum, said no decisions had been made on this year's police precept.

Consultation continues over the next few days with a final vote expected at a meeting on February 9.