DURHAM Police are to bill the Home Office for more than £350,000 compensation for ten months of wasted work leading up to the failed police merger plans.

The cash-strapped force has become the second in the region to reveal its costs following the Government's U-turn on the controversial plans.

The Government had wanted to merge Durham Police with Northumbria and Cleveland, to create a North-East superforce, and merge North Yorkshire Police into a much wider Yorkshire force.

However, in July the merger plans, which had divided the country's police forces, were scrapped as the Home Office admitted it did not have the money to support the plans.

Last week, North Yorkshire Police became the first force in the region to announce it would be asking the Government for £250,000 for the wasted work.

And yesterday - although Cleveland Police is yet to finalise its costs - chairman of the police authority, Councillor Dave McLuckie, said Cleveland would be asking for between £100,000 and £250,000.

This brings the bill to at least £700,000 - with Northumbria, the biggest force by far, yet to work out its costs.

The total bill for this region is likely to break the £1m mark.

George Oliver, spokesman for Durham Police, said: "We will be making a submission to the Home Office to reimburse the costs incurred.

"As a force that has been praised for its prudent financial management, obviously monies that are no longer available to use are important to the running of the force.

"We need the money, we can't afford to lose this type of money within our budgets, that's why we are making the submission."

Durham Police has warned it will be £8m in the red within two years after several years of poor financial settlements from the Government.

The Durham and Northumbria forces were behind the plans for a North-East force, but Cleveland was strongly opposed and launched a judicial review to stop the amalgamation.

The Home Office is likely to draw a distinction between spending that would have occurred anyway and additional costs - such as travel and consultants fees - brought about by the merger plans.

Both North Yorkshire and Durham forces said they had shelled out about £60,000 of additional costs and these figures are included in their submissions to the Home Office.

Coun McLuckie, said a meeting on August 23 would determine how much it was to bill the Home Office for.