5.3% of the officers are from an ethnic minority background

The Metropolitan Police's Refer a Friend scheme hopes to increase the ethnic base of the 25,500-strong force.

At the moment, 5.3% of the Metropolitan Police workforce comes from ethnic minority backgrounds - a figure recruitment chiefs hope to push to 25.5% by 2009.

A police spokesman said the reward would only be given if the recruit was successful and went on to become a police officer.

The �350 sum, he added, would be taxable.

Refer a Friend will be launched at the beginning of June and run by an independent firm called the Recruitment Communications Company.

Female applicants

It will be responsible for the administration of the recruitment drive and will ensure officers receive their bonus money.

In an earlier campaign called 'It's not where you're from, it's where we're going', advertisements were placed in the regional and national press.

Women's magazines and ethnic minority publications were targeted to entice applicants from under-represented groups.

Assistant Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "We particularly welcome applications from women and ethnic minorities so that our service can better reflect the richly diverse communities that we serve."