NORTH Yorkshire Police wants to boost its spending power by securing more sponsorship.

North Yorkshire is allowed by the Government to raise £850,000 a year in sponsorship, which would be one per cent of its income.

However, a review has revealed that considerable amounts of government and European funding are not being tapped into.

Independent police authority member Ian Allmark, who headed a working party looking into the issue, said: "We were one of the first forces to embrace sponsorship five years ago. But we have lost our way a bit and may be missing many opportunities to raise substantial amounts of funding."

Now Chief Constable David Kenworthy is being asked to look at boosting cash for vital services from these sources.

l North Yorkshire Police secured £60,000 of Government cash to provide a mobile community police office. Its trips around moors, dales and the coast helps to provide a higher police profile in areas miles from the nearest station