The bill for holding prisoners in West Yorkshire police cells to help cope with prison overcrowding hit almost £1.3 million this year.

Figures released by Government show it costs about £400 to house, feed and transport one prisoner for a night under Operation Safeguard.

Forces have to pay up front before claiming the money back from the Ministry of Justice.

From January to October, £1.29 million was spent across West Yorkshire for Operation Safeguard - the name given when police cells hold inmates after prisons have reached operational capacity.

Although Leeds prison is no longer among the ten most overcrowded in the country, temporary lack of places has often forced prisoners to be dispersed to police stations.

A defendant in a murder trial had to be accommodated at Keighley police station one night last week after he was unable to be returned to Armley where he has spent months in custody.

The next day the judge agreed to a request from his barrister to allow him to have regular breaks from court due to his lack of sleep at the police station.

Tom McGhie, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation, said: "The cost shows the extent of the problem. It is a burden to officers and staff who are working rest days to deal with this.

"There is a clear need for more prisons."

Last month the prison population of England and Wales stood at 81,533 with 333 of those held in police or court cells.

The total number of prison places available is 81,517, with a further 400 cells available in police stations.

The Ministry of Justice has defended the national £29 million payout to use police cells.

A spokesman said: "The National Offender Manage-ment Service had done everything possible to avoid the resumption of Operation Safeguard, but with the continuing rise in the prison population, we had to implement the formal use of police cells.

"NOMS is closely monitoring the prison population and continues to investigate options for providing further increases in capacity."

Emergency measures introduced in June allowed thousands of criminals to be released up to 18 days early.

Figures published in August showed criminals released early had committed a further 56 offences. It was also revealed 43 were on the run.

The Government has announced plans for an additional 9,500 prison places, 700 of which are expected to be delivered by the end of this year.