THE head of Cleveland police says front-line officers will not be sacrificed as part of budget cuts to reduce the force's £7.3m deficit.

Police chiefs have set up rigorous budget monitoring after an Audit Commission report highlighted a "spend, spend, spend" culture which led to the funding black hole.

The report identified 16 key recommendations that needed to be implemented to safeguard the financial future of the authority.

At a meeting of the Cleveland Police Authority last Friday, chief constable Sean Price insisted the force would not be placed in the same perilous situation again.

Mr Price reassured the public that the number of officers on the beat would not drop as a consequence of the enforced savings.

He said: "I am satisfied that these savings can be achieved without affecting our core responsibilities of protecting the public and reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

"I share the Audit Commission's concern at the way reserves have been allowed in the past to drop to such a low level. That would have left us in a perilous position had we faced a major crisis. This cannot be allowed to happen again.

"The public has a right to expect better and I assure them that I will do all in my power to ensure such a situation never arises again."

The funding row resulted in authority chairman Coun Ken Walker being rejected by Middlesbrough Council's Labour group as its representative for next year, but he retains his position until the annual meeting in July.

Redcar and Cleveland councillor Bill Clarke said he hoped those responsible for the financial problems would be brought to book.

He said: "We have got 16 recommendations to recognise these weaknesses, but we could quite easily say someone somewhere has got away with it."