North Yorkshire police officers were today locked in an unprecedented confrontation with Chief Constable David Kenworthy over controversial changes to their shifts.

Officers have voted overwhelmingly against the proposals in a postal ballot conducted by the Police Federation.

Mr Kenworthy was at a packed federation meeting in Harrogate last night as it was revealed that, out of 884 ballot forms returned, only three members had voted in favour of the changes.

The chief constable was warned by federation leaders that a "resounding message" had been sent out which he would ignore at his peril.

They also called upon Mr Kenworthy to begin recruiting to strengthen the 'thin, dotted blue line'.

They urged him to use some of the force's £11.2m reserves to recruit new officers, saying the loss of 43 bobbies this year had taken its toll on morale.

But Mr Kenworthy warned officers that the force was in dire financial straits and could only hope to stay afloat by making radical reforms.

"If we don't change the way we work compared with last year, there will be about 150 less members of staff in the next few years, that's the stark reality of the financial situation," he said.

"I am in favour of a variable shift system but we have cut our coat according to the cloth we have available."

However, he was now willing to seek additional finance from the Government and hoped it would pay for the force's new radio communications system, which would free up cash for recruitment.

Mr Kenworthy told the Evening Press today that by the end of the year the force would be making the best possible use of its resources thanks to a series of measures.

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