Sponsorship deals have generated an extra £100,000 for policing in Bradford this year, it has been revealed.

And that figure looks set to grow as West Yorkshire's cash-strapped Force aims to plug the funding gaps created by a £7million budget shortfall.

The total amount of sponsorship for April 1998 to March 1999 stands at £562,762, but under the Police and Magistrates Act the Force can generate one per cent of its agreed £289million budget during the coming year.

There have been more than 40 separate deals agreed for the five Bradford policing divisions involving organisations ranging from local middle schools to bus companies. Schemes benefiting from the cash include Neighbourhood Watch, youth diversion projects and training promotions.

But it is the largest single sponsorship - a £45,000 deal with Bradford manufacturer Coral Windows - which has proved the most controversial.

The agreement meant all 80 operational vehicles in the five divisions now carry the slogan "in partnership with Coral Windows". Rank-and-file officers have claimed the move has made them a laughing stock. And at its annual open meeting this month West Yorkshire Police Federation told Chief Constable Graham Moore the Force had been turned into a part-time double glazing sales force.

Commenting on the range of sponsorship deals agreed in Bradford, Federation chairman Roger Benn said: "Forces are only having to resort to this because of a lack of funding from the Government.''

But West Yorkshire Police Authority member Councillor Andy Mudd (Lab, Keighley West) said: "This is significant extra funding which can be used to make Bradford a safer place.''

He felt, however, that the Coral Windows deal went "that bit too far''.

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