THE chairman of Cleveland Police Authority has called for the force to be given the same rights as big city authorities.

Councillor Ken Walker was speaking about the announcement earlier this week that the Government had provided funding for 74 more police officers in the area over the next few years.

The money for the Government's comprehensive spending review has added more than 46 officers to those already allocated to Cleveland under the crime fighting fund.

Coun Walker said: "The impact of the funding now available through the Crime Fighting fund will pay for the recruitment of 20 extra officers this financial year, 27 next year and a similar number in the third year, and that is of course in addition to resources being made available by the police authority itself.

"Of course, these additional funds have to be seen against the underlying issue facing the Cleveland authority and the force, that we should be treated as a fully-fledged metropolitan force."

Coun Walker went on to say that out of 43 English forces, Cleveland was one of only 12 in recent months not to receive a share of £15m allocated for rural policing and all the others were city forces.

But despite being treated as a metropolitan force in this way, Coun Walker said the Cleveland force was not given the benefits enjoyed by city forces.

He said: "This is an issue which we now intend to take up directly with the Home Office.