LANCASHIRE’S Police and Crime Commissioner has made a new plea to the government for extra cash to recruit officers and pay for the cost of coronavirus.

Clive Grunshaw has written to policing minister Kit Malthouse outlining the significant challenges the Lancashire force faces in relation to its budget, especially the extra costs caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He highlights increases to police officer pension contributions, annual pay awards and ongoing costs around additional officers recruited as part of the government’s campaign to recruit 20,000 new officers in the next three years.

Mr Grunshaw said: “We need the Government to commit to a new, fair and comprehensive deal which recognises the challenges faced by individual police forces and addresses long term challenges.

“Lancashire Constabulary has been named as one of the most efficient forces in the country and we’ve proven time and again that whatever resources we have are used in a responsible way that delivers for Lancashire.

“If we are to replace some of the 750 officers lost in Lancashire since 2010 and meet the government’s own recruitment targets then we need certainty over funding. The people of Lancashire consistently tell me that they want to see frontline policing protected and we need the government to commit to this instead of chasing headlines with impressive sounding figures.”