OVER-STRETCHED police are now having to turn to Special Constables and volunteers to plug the recruitment gap.

Thames Valley Police, which has already been trying to employ redundant Welsh steel workers, is now drafting in volunteers.

The idea behind the latest scheme, given the rubber-stamp by chief constable Charles Pollard, is to get volunteers doing paperwork, front desk office work and IT to free up more bobbies to do front-line work.

Under the new initiative, Special Constables would be offered a 'modest' level of payment, more training and support and more regular hours.

But former policeman Dave Allworth hit out at the new scheme, saying: "This is just one of the little ways in which they are trying to get something for nothing.

"A Special is not going to be a trained PC and when a volunteer is confronted at the front desk of a police station they are not trained to deal with it in the same way.

"In my view it is not an ideal solution for the problem. The long term solution is to pay the right wage for the job."

Pc Andy Wayland of Amersham Traffic Police said: "You cannot expect Specials to do the work of a trained police officer. This is obviously to supplement trained officers until they manage to recruit enough staff but it is worrying."

Cllr Margaret Dewar, of Beaconsfield, a member of the Thames Valley Police Authority, said: "The bottom line is that the police do not have enough bodies out there. It really worries me.

"People have a certain security about seeing a policeman in uniform. This is what people really want to see and the basic problems, such as wages and the cost of housing, have to be tackled to get to that stage."

Thames Valley Police Valley Police did manage to recruit 244 officers from March 2000 to January this year but lost 245 through transfers and retirement.

The force has also tried to bolster recruitment by offering a £2,000 bonus for living allowances but still not enough bobbies are joining and staying in the force.

Around 13 volunteers are already working at police stations in Chiltern Vale including High Wycombe, Beaconsfield, Amersham and Chesham.

But Kate Spark, spokesman for Chiltern Vale Police, emphasised that Specials are additional to the officers policing the area.

She said: "We do not rely on our Specials as part of our permanent staff. The work they undertake allows us the opportunity to release police officers from administrative tasks and put them on patrol."