SPORTY officers at York's central police station are losing their gym facilities to make way for more office staff.

Senior police officers have scrapped the gym at Fulford Police Station to create room for a wave of new civilian administration staff.

They say the change is temporary, but the Police Federation questions why North Yorkshire Police has chosen to close a string of stations in York and then complained of running short of space.

Superintendent Alison Higgins, central area operations commander, said managers were looking to use other sporting facilities in the city instead, which would help heighten the public profile of the police.

She said: "We are upset that we have to lose it because it is a valuable resource for training and exercise, but it is not as though we cannot find similar facilities elsewhere."

But Les Coverdale, of the Police Federation, said the loss of public access to stations at Acomb and Clifton Moor had limited the resources available to the force and the public.

He said: "It is always a problem when any facilities are closed that benefit officers' health and fitness.

"It obviously goes with the demands of the job that officers have to be in good physical condition."

The gym at Fulford was often used by officers for badminton and basketball as well as "use of force" training and other self-defence and physical instruction. Desks and chairs have already been moved in and builders are expected to further transform the two-storey area into a modern office environment.

Superintendent Higgins said a "substantial number" of staff were being recruited by September to help reduce the paperwork dealt with by uniformed officers.

The force recently advertised for 23 "case builders" to be based at York, Harrogate and Scarborough. The new recruits will be involved in gathering and submitting evidence for prosecutions.

She said such staff had enjoyed considerable success nationally and their paperwork helped free officers from desks, offices and courtrooms and put them back on the streets.

Case builders work with beat officers, the Crown Prosecution Service and other crime fighting agencies to organise the interviewing of witnesses, evidence gathering and forensic measures to create cases for the courts.

Updated: 10:43 Friday, July 25, 2003