Chief Constable of Thames Valley Peter Neyroud has attacked the Government for the amount of money it has given the force.

Thames Valley Police will receive a three per cent increase, to £206m, in funding during 2003-04.

Mr Neyroud said the settlement does not take account of retention problems, with officers moving to areas with a lower cost of living, or joining the Metropolitan Police for a £7,000 salary increase.

The force is 245 officers short of a full complement of 4,105 officers.

He said: "I'm disappointed with the whole Government settlement -- not just for Thames Valley, but for the police service as a whole.

"In Thames Valley we have the lowest number of police officers per head of population in the UK."

He said he would be pressing the Government for special priority payments, of between £500 and £5,000, to aid retention. Thames Valley Police Authority, which manages the police budget, said it was disappointed with a three per cent increase, which would be insufficient to cope with the pressures of inflation and existing spending commitments. But it does not intend to make cuts to policing.