RURAL areas would not be sacrificed in order to boost policing in York, the chief constable of North Yorkshire has pledged.

Della Cannings defended her bid for an 80pc rise in North Yorkshire Police Authority's proportion of the council tax precept.

Such an increase would equate to £1.30 a week extra for a band D property, bringing the police authority total to £3 per property.

Miss Cannings told a meeting of the Richmondshire community and police group that the increase would allow some enhancement of the service the force offered.

"I am very conscious that a lot of people in North Yorkshire are on fixed incomes and people's investments and pensions are not producing the income they anticipated, and we are only one of many organisations that are putting up prices," she told the meeting at Richmond on Monday.

"However, I am not going for frills, I am not going for a Rolls-Royce, but there are issues about how we provide police services and they need to be funded."

People who attended the meeting were concerned that cash would be directed at York and other urban areas at the expense of rural patches such as Richmondshire.

Miss Cannings said this was not an option.

"I could reach Government targets by moving resources from rural areas into York," she said. "I would have to strip out the rural areas but, morally and professionally, it would be wrong of me to do that."

There was a history of under-funding in the force and the Government did not recognise that providing services in a rural area was more expensive.

A standstill budget could be achieved by levying only a 60p a week rise in precept but this would effectively mean the force "going backwards" and a reduction in staff, with officers spending more time on administration, and the loss of some police stations.

The 80pc rise would see up to 200 new officers and support staff recruited, trained and equipped, and the computer system updated, freeing up officers from administrative work.

Bernard Flynn, the force's director of finance, said that, by the end of March, the constabulary would have 1,460 officers, more than ever before, plus more than 700 support staff.

The increase in Government funding for the coming year did not even cover inflation or the increase in national insurance payments from the force.

Only £2,700 was left in reserves, when guidelines advised police forces to have £5m in the pot to fund major incidents such as flooding, motorway pile-ups and other disasters.

Attempts to reduce early retirement for medical reasons among officers had been successful, said Miss Cannings. So far this year, only 12 staff had retired early for this reason and the reduction was set to continue.

Ifti Ahmed, a former member of the police authority, accepted that a £1.30 a week rise in precept was probably needed but challenged Miss Cannings to prove that policing had improved in Richmondshire.

"I fully support the chief constable's proposals but, in a year's time, she is going to have to explain to us, if things have gone wrong, why," he said