The £10.9million bill left by the riots in Bradford last year has left an "unfair burden" on the tax payer and a strain on police resources, according to the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.

In his last annual report as head of the county's force, Graham Moore said it had been one of the force's most demanding years when overall crime in the county rose by 15 per cent.

He said resources being used directly to deal with major crime, including the riots, meant they were not available to tackle other key crimes, such as robbery and burglary, which increased significantly for the first time in many years.

"Our position has been made particularly difficult because of rioting, disorder and the run of expensive major investigations which remove experienced officers from routine policing," said Mr Moore.

While the Government has agreed to pay £2.2million towards the £3.4 million policing operation, West Yorkshire Police Authority has to pay the £7.5 million worth of claims for riot damages.

"I strongly believe that this is an unfair burden on local charge payers and is unfairly borne by the Police Authority, which is only one part of the local government infrastructure," he added.

Mr Moore said the investigation into the murder of Bramley schoolgirl Leanne Tiernan, whose body was found near Otley, was, statistically, one crime of violence but cost £2.3 million and equated to 10,377 days of police and staff time.