THE Government has stepped in to bail out a North-East police force facing financial meltdown.

In an unprecedented move, Home Office officials have agreed to inject £6.3m into Cleveland Police.

The three-year deal will help put the force on a firm financial footing by 2008.

As well as the £2m-a-year boost, the force has also secured £300,000 to pay for new equipment and there are hopes it will also receive money towards the building of new police stations.

Cleveland has been in chaos ever since a £7.3m "black hole" was discovered in its finances more than a year ago.

Despite a crackdown on spending, Chief Constable Sean Price admitted before Christmas that he could not rule out job cuts.

Last night, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the £6.3m offer.

Deputy chairman of Cleveland Police Authority Councillor Dave McLuckie said: "We will not have to make anyone in the force take compulsory redundancy and that's great news for the people who have worked so hard for Cleveland Police."

The offer was made after months of high-level talks with Home Office Minster Hazel Blears.

Mr Price said: "The Home Office accepted that the problems we faced had built up over a number of years and had to be dealt with.

"It's a huge vote of confidence in Cleveland Police that this extraordinary deal has been made."

Meetings were arranged after police authority chairman Ted Cox and Mr Price wrote to Ms Blears outlining the force's financial plight in October.

The team which headed the force's bid for help was made up of Mr Price, police authority chief executive Joe McCarthy, Mr Cox, and finance director Ann Hall.

Mr Cox said: "We are obviously pleased that the minister has responded in such a constructive way to the case we made to her about our very significant financial pressures."

A year ago, Cleveland Police were forced to radically tighten their purse strings following the discovery of a £7.3m deficit in spending plans.

Since then, more than £10m worth of savings have been made identified without damaging performance figures.

Mr Price said: "We will continue to review all areas in order to make efficiency savings, but this money gives us breathing space.

"It means that we can phase in savings rather than have to slash resources overnight."