Plans to merge many of England and Wales' forces were dropped

Sussex has submitted a bill for �1m and other police authorities are expected to follow suit.

Ian Roberts, chair of the north Wales authority, which opposed the merger, said ministers would be billed for costs such as staff and legal advice.

The Home Office said it would consider any requests for funding from police.

Of the other Welsh forces, Gwent said it was considering a submission, South Wales said it had no plans, and Dyfed-Powys said it was "not aware" of any.

The mess was of the Home Office's making and quite simply they should pay to clear it up Ian Roberts, North Wales Police Authority

Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke aimed to consolidate England and Wales' current 43 forces into some 24 larger forces, arguing that they would be better prepared to fight terrorism and organised crime.

It was claimed that the Welsh forces - all with under 4,000 officers - were too small to deal with major crimes as effectively as their larger counterparts.

Opponents of the merger plans said they were under-funded, would be expensive and an all-Wales force would divert resources from neighbourhood policing.

The project collapsed earlier this month after the only two forces to volunteer to merge - Lancashire and Cumbria - withdrew over funding issues.

'Waste of money'

Mr Roberts said: "The mess was of the Home Office's making and quite simply they should pay to clear it up.

"We will be sending our invoice to the Home Office and we expect the amount to be repaid in full.

"We said from the very outset this was an extremely costly waste of public money.

"This exercise in futility has cost �375,000 in north Wales alone and across Wales as a whole the bill is likely to be in excess of �1m.

"It is not right that the council taxpayers of north Wales should be expected to pick up the financial pieces of the merger mayhem that was imposed on our force and the police authority."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Home Office can't comment on requests from individual forces. The Home Office would consider any requests for funding from police forces.

"The home secretary said in June that he was keen on continuing discussion with forces and police authorities over the summer on how best to improve protective services."