IF the managers of a business failed to spot the fact that millions of pounds were missing from their budget, it would not be long before heads rolled.

It should be no different at Cleveland Police, which has suddenly discovered a "black hole" of millions of pounds.

Why wasn't it spotted sooner? It is a question which every council tax payer in the area has every right to ask.

The end of the Barry Shaw reign as Chief Constable, in the wake of the costly farce that was Operation Lancet, was welcomed by this newspaper as an opportunity to sweep away the morale-sapping, public relations disasters of the past.

Yesterday's announcement that the Audit Commission has been called in to investigate this unforeseen financial crisis is a serious blow to the efforts of new chief constable Sean Price to build public confidence.

Ray Mallon, who emerged from Operation Lancet as the Mayor of Middlesbrough, is right to say that not an extra penny of public money should be spent until the serious questions hanging over the financial management of the force have been answered.

Mr Mallon also proclaims that "times have obviously changed" because the Cleveland Police Authority has acted swiftly in calling in the Audit Commission.

The truth, of course, is that the authority, which buried its head in the sand during the Barry Shaw regime, had no alternative.