They voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to support a merger of North Yorkshire Police with the South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside forces.

Another option to merge only with West Yorkshire was rejected.

"Policing needs to change to ensure the service has the capacity to deal with major crime and serious incidents across the county," the authority said.

"An amalgamation of all four forces in the Yorkshire and Humberside area could be the best way of achieving this."

Cost concerns

However, the authority also acknowledged public concerns that neighbourhood policing in rural areas must be protected under any future restructuring and that the council tax payer should not bear any additional costs of change.

"We will not volunteer for restructuring until these matters are resolved to our satisfaction," said authority chairman Jane Kenyon.

The authority is required to respond to Home Secretary Charles Clarke by the end of this week on its preferred option for meeting national gaps in the service identified by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) earlier this year.

Mr Clarke is likely to decide on any future action in January.

Need for change

Ms Kenyon said: "The service does need to change to address the issues contained in HMIC's findings - of that there is no doubt.

"Looking at the detailed costs/benefit analysis produced for us today, and after receiving the advice of the chief constable, we felt that the full regional option potentially would provide the most benefits."

Chief Constable Della Cannings said: "The next few months will prove to be crucial. The home secretary does need to address the concerns articulated by the authority.

"I would like to reassure the public of North Yorkshire that whilst working to improve protective services is an objective, neighbourhood policing will remain the lifeblood of our work here in North Yorkshire.'"