POLICE say that recruitment is on the up but, because of the numbers of officers leaving, they are lucky to be 'breaking even'.

The number of police officers joining the force nationally is on the increase and Thames Valley Police is reflecting the trend to some extent.

However, spokesman for the force Paul Anthem said that, due to the high costs of living in the area, they are faced with a greater challenge than most.

He said that 229 officers had started residential training in 2000 to 2001, compared with 181 the previous year.

However, he confirmed that overall recruitment for the Thames Valley Force had been 258 officers from March 2000 to March 2001 but that they had lost 257 officers over the same period.

He said: "We are sort of breaking even but even breaking even is progress because of the cost of housing in this area."

Chief Constable Sir Charles Pollard has welcomed the increase in the numbers of new recruits but said that he was hopeful more would be joining because of measures to attract and retain officers.

The main measure was the successful negotiation of an extra £2,000 cost-of-living allowance for all officers joining after September 1, 1994 when new recruits ceased to receive a housing allowance.