COMPLAINTS of assaults and unlawful arrests against police officers are up, according to a force's latest figures.

A report to Cleveland Police Authority showed that assault allegations continued to be the largest category of complaint against the force. From April to June this year, there were 25 such complaints, compared to 20 in the same period last year.

The use of CS spray featured in seven complaints compared with two last year. The category of unlawful or unnecessary arrests and detentions showed an increase from two to five.

A break-down of the figures for each force area showed that while complaints in Hartlepool and Stockton remained constant, the number for Middlesbrough rose from 20 to 28.

The report showed that civil claims rose during the period, from 97 to 106. They included claims for unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution, assault, dog bites and negligence. They cost the force £44,000, compared with £200,000 for the whole of the previous year.

A police spokesman said: "There are always ups and downs in such a short time-scale as three months. Therefore it would be wrong to interpret the figures as a possible trend.

"It should be stressed that people complain for a wide variety of reasons, but not all complaints are substantiated."

He said that of all the complaints made in the year to the end of March 2001 - 343 - only eight were upheld.