A NORTH-EAST police force was in fresh turmoil last night following revelations that a budget deficit "black hole" had grown by more than £1m in less than a week.

Cleveland Police could now be facing a deficit of £8m - up from the £6.8m figure given to taxpayers only five days ago.

The latest twist came as a second team of Government inspectors was standing by to investigate the running of the embattled force.

Councillor Ken Walker, the chairman of Cleveland Police Authority, said that Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMI) had been asked to investigate the budget deficit.

He said he was optimistic that the request for an independent in depth investigation into how the force managed its affairs would be granted.

Earlier, Coun Walker along with other senior police authority members, had held urgent discussions with inspectorate chief Ken Williams because of deep concerns over the deficit.

The Northern Echo understands that Mr Williams then asked to speak directly to Chief Constable Sean Price and both men were last night locked in talks.

Mr Williams carried out a scathing inspection report into Cleveland Police, published last November, which said the service given to local people was "not acceptable" and was swamped by drugs crime. It warned of sanctions against the force should things not improve within six months.

Coun Walker said: "I am extremely optimistic that the inspectorate will respond positively to my request for an independent inspection into the heart of how Cleveland Police is currently governed.

"This will complement the investigation by the Audit Commission already commissioned by myself into those failings which have contributed to our current predicament."

Last night, Joe McCarthy, chief executive of Cleveland Police Authority, admitted that the budget deficit amount had changed, describing the situation as a "moveable feast".

He said: "We have been reviewing it. At the moment it is about £8m which is a maximum figure but I believe it may settle at about £7.4m.

"We are also reviewing all of the paperwork in terms of the way the budget was prepared.

"There is an awful lot of work going on to get to the bottom of this and it does sound messy, but it is a complicated exercise and undertaking.

"We want to get a complete understanding of the whole picture in order that we can deal with this, and the public would not expect anything else from us."

On Monday, the chief constable and Coun Walker attended an angry public meeting in Hartlepool, called to discuss plans for a proposed 28.9 per cent increase in the police authority's council tax precept in order to pay for 100 extra officers.

Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon, a former CID chief with Cleveland Police, has since withdrawn his support for the precept increase.

He said: "For the police authority to call in the Audit Commission was concerning, but for them to now turn to the HMI suggests the situation is even more serious than first feared.

"We are talking about millions of pounds of public money and it is essential that we now discover exactly how this budget deficit has come about.

"Before we ask the public for any further precept increase we have to be certain as to how that money will be spent."

It is expected that a final budget deficit figure will be presented to Cleveland Police Authority members briefing on Friday.

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