WEST Mercia Constabulary has been given a refund by the Government for the money it spent on responding to a proposed merger with other forces.

West Mercia has received the full amount it applied for - £89,061 - representing the costs incurred during the period when the restructuring of forces was being considered.

The Government had wanted to merge West Mercia with the Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands forces, but the plans were scrapped after Charles Clarke was sacked as Home Secretary and replaced by John Reid.

West Mercia vigorously opposed by the plans, led by Chief Constable Paul West The force admitted that the full cost of responding to the proposed merger was nearer £500,000 - but a spokesman said this was taking things such as man hours into account.

A spokesman for West Mercia Police Authority said: "This is excellent news. I am delighted that West Mercia Police Authority has been able to secure the full amount of funding for which it applied to the Home Office.

"The £89,061 figure relates to the cash costs incurred by West Mercia Police Authority during the period when the restructuring of forces was under active consideration.

"This figure includes the cost of the extensive public consultation exercise carried out by the police authority in which an overwhelming majority of local residents expressed their view that a strategic police force for Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Worcestershire was the way forward for policing in their local communities."

Other forces were less than happy with their settlement. Many asked for much more money and 19 out of 37 authorities did not get the full amount that they applied for. Surrey asked for a £649,311 reimbursement but received just £100,000.