POLICE have won a £1.8 million Home Office payout to fund extra staff to help with cutting-edge forensics.

Thames Valley Police will gain 23 extra staff to fight crime using DNA technology which has helped police solve high profile crimes.

The human bones found dumped in a lay-by off the A40 in Beaconsfield, near Pye Bush roundabout, were identified as missing person Sinead Healey through DNA forensic techniques.

Forensic evidence also helped convict Zainulabedin Zaidi, 34, who was arrested in High Wycombe for murdering his wife and two young children in Bracknell in November.

Sara Thornton, Operational Support head, said: "This massive injection of resources into the use we make of advances in DNA will help us fight crime more effectively. Not only is DNA evidence very reliable, it's also comparatively cheap."

Extra funding will mean the force will now be able to recruit 12 assistant scenes of crime officers (SOCOs), ten extra administrative assistants and a DNA clerk.

The importance of DNA in catching criminals is reflected by the growing number of hits by the force, where DNA ties a person to a crime scene.

Thames Valley Police had 651 hits between April 1999 and March 2000 and 913 hits for the same period this year.

The force will receive £608,000 over three years as part of a £109 million Government investment in expanding the use made of DNA to catch criminals.