Contractors clearing the wreckage from Yarl's Wood detention centre are due to start dismantling cranes following a row over who is to pay for them.

Bedfordshire Police Authority agreed at a meeting last night that it would refuse to foot the �2.1m bill, despite being issued with an ultimatum from the contractors that expired at 1700 GMT on Friday.

The Home Office is still considering the authority's request to pay for the cranes, which were set up last week at the site of burned-out detention centre for asylum seekers.

The contractors have been paid up till Friday night by security firm Group Four, which runs the centre - but the firm says it has now paid tens of thousands of pounds and will go no further.

'No further'

John Bates of Group Four told the BBC: "Friday last week there was some querying over who would fund the cranes.

"We stepped in at that point and said... we will fund the cranes for the next three days whilst the decisions are made.

"Well, the decisions weren't made within three days. We extended our funding for two days to allow the Home Office to make the decision, that wasn't possible.

"We extended yet again further... until we've got to the point of five o'clock today (1700 GMT Friday) where frankly we can go no further."

Bedfordshire Police Authority has already announced it will vigorously resist attempts to make the force pay for the estimated �38m clean-up bill at the detention centre.