PLANS for a national identity card should be scrapped - and the money pumped into community policing instead.

That's the stance being taken by Lancaster City Council against the Government's flagship scheme.

It is far too costly and puts a dent in civil liberties, say councillors.

The £5.4 billion earmarked for introducing ID cards should be pumped into police coffers instead.

A motion passed by the full council urging the Government to scrap the scheme has won praise from the Lancaster branch of the nationwide NO2ID campaign.

Its spokesman David Dreghorn says: "This is a wise decision by our local counci despite some misleading points in the debate from supporters of the scheme.

"The introduction of such a system will not do what supporters claim. It will not control immigration, benefit fraud, reduce crime or prevent terrorism but the database behind it will give the Government, police and security services unprecedented access to information about the individual.

"The use of the card, which you will need to access health care, will also create 'audit trails' which will show where the card has been used, for example visits to the sexual health clinic."

The motion passed by the city council says: " The Council believes that compulsory ID cards are costly, and unnecessary. There is little evidence to show that they will reduce benefit fraud, illegal immigration or crime, they are an affront to civil liberties and are likely to have a harmful effect on police and community relations."

Councillors says the Government has a 'duty' to take action to reduce crime and put more bobbies on the beat instead.