MILLIONS of pounds earmarked for fighting crime in the region are being spent on pension payments for retired police officers, it was revealed last night.

Home Office figures show £67m of police authority budgets in the North-East and North Yorkshire go towards pensions.

The Government is under pressure to separate pension payments from money allocated for the day-to-day running of police forces. And experts have warned payments will continue to soar as life expectancy increases unless something is done.

Troubled Cleveland Police was revealed to have the fastest rising bill of any force in England and Wales.

Since 1997, its pension fund payout has increased by almost 50 per cent to £13.3m.

A total of 15.8 per cent of Cleveland's budget - nearly £1 in every £6 - was spent on pensions in the last financial year.

That compares to only 10.9 per cent in 1997, when Tony Blair came to power, according to the figures released to MPs.

In County Durham, the proportion spent on pensions fell back from 16.5 per cent to 13.6 per cent, but that still takes £11.1m out of the force's budget.

Chair of Durham Police Authority, Councillor Anne Wright, said last night she would welcome any plans by the Government to separate pension payments from money for fighting crime.

She said: "Police pensions are a real concern for the police authority especially as we are coming up to a pension bulge.

"It has been nearly 30 years since a major police recruitment of officers who are now coming up to retirement.

"The police authority is the same as the fire brigade, we have to make payments out of the revenue fund.

"I think it should be separated and I would welcome it if the Government introduces it or sets aside money especially for pensions."

In North Yorkshire, £9.8m is spent on pensions, where 13.9 per cent of the budget is swallowed up, compared to 14.5 per cent in 1997/8.

The bill has gone up slightly in Northumbria to £33.2m.

Police officers enjoy better pensions than other public sector workers and there have been repeated complaints it is too easy for them to retire early.

A few years ago, the Home Office wanted to raise the compulsory retirement age from 55 to 60, reduce widows' pensions and cut lump-sum payments.

But police officers said it would remove their "safety net" and blamed poor administrative management - rather than the scheme itself - for the high cost of pensions.

In the meantime, the Home Office has put strong pressure on all forces to cut the number of early retirements, usually on the grounds of ill-health.

Adam Price, Plaid Cymru's treasury spokesman, who dug out the figures, said the solution was for the Home Office to create a "ringfenced" fund for pension payments.

Mr Price said: "As life expectancy increases, we are seeing a higher and higher proportion of police authority budgets going towards pensions."

Lord Brian Mackenzie of Framwellgate, a former police chief and Home Office advisor, said the issue need to be addressed. "It has been a problem in my experience in the police for the last 15 years," he said.

"There needs to be a separate pot of gold which would go towards pensions but that would need Government money and they are very reluctant to set that fund up.

"It is going to get worse. Police officers are living a lot longer."

Lord Mackenzie said he believed there was a Government reform project in the pipeline which would introduce a different system of paying pensions for new recruits but said officials were not able to interfere with existing officers pensions.

A Home Office spokesman said a review was under way which was considering a ringfenced fund, with proposals expected to be published early next year.