RYEDALE'S police resources are being sapped by Scarborough, leaving the district vulnerable, says the Mayor of Norton.

Councillor Margaret Taylor has hit out at what she calls a "dire situation" which leaves Ryedale bereft of officers who have been seconded to the streets of the tourist honeypot.

She added: "We must insist on more police, that is absolutely essential. It has got to a ridiculous stage when they've got to borrow officers. We must positively insist we get the extra money to pay for more police officers.

"All we can do is make a fuss. Splash it all over the headlines that we think it is absolutely ridiculous."

Superintendant Paul Gregory, commander of North Yorkshire's Eastern Region which takes in Ryedale, Scarborough and Hambleton, has confirmed that police from Malton are having to be taken out of Ryedale on a regular basis to back up Scarborough officers.

"This doesn't necessarily denude Malton, he said. "If anything there is known about, we can bring in officers from Pickering."

Supt Gregory says the situation is down to a change in policing philosophy, which means pooling resources to support each area. "Pickering can help Helmsley and Malton can help Pickering," he added.

But Coun Thomas's comments have been bolstered by her opposite number in Malton, Coun Norris Binner.

He said: "Those poor lads of the police force are vulnerable as it is - there are people out there putting their lives at risk."

Coun Binner had great sympathy for the problems in manning faced by local police chiefs, but believed the time had come to demand the money to provide sufficient officers.

"We pay our money like everyone else, but we're just not getting the service," he added.

David Lloyd-Williams, a town and county councillor and Ryedale's sole representative on the North Yorkshire Police Authority, said he was most unhappy about the situation.

"If they run short in Scarborough on Fridays and Saturdays, we lose one or two of our own police on those occasions."

The police in Malton and Norton were being spread even thinner, he said. "The old village bobby has disappeared, and now they have to interchange and use resources where they can. We don't want our police thinned down to breaking point."

John Greenway, Ryedale's MP, warned 18 months ago that police shortages could and would become crippling.