POLICE are paying £150,000 to replace a fleet of motorcycles which were taken off the road because they were branded too dangerous for police use.

The entire fleet of 11 Honda ST1300 bikes was mothballed more than a year ago after a coroner blamed them for the death of a police officer who was flung from his bike at high speed.

Police in Oxfordshire have agreed to buy 12 new bikes, which will get their officers back out on the road.

Police use the bikes for numberplate recognition checks, escorting dignitaries and major police operations.

The 12 BMW RT1200 bikes should be on the road by the summer.

Ian Godolphin, head of transport for Thames Valley Police, said the lack of bikes had restricted some operations.

He said: "There are a number of situations in policing where motorbikes are much better suited than cars, such as traffic control and controlling crowds at major events.

"They can also arrive at incidents quicker in some response situations due to traffic, for example if they were attending the scene of a collision, a bike would be able to get through the resulting tailback quicker than a car.

"Thames Valley Police welcome the return of bikes to our transport fleet as they are another resource for our Roads Policing Department to use in keeping our roads safe."

The bikes will be based in Thames Valley, but pooled with police forces in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

Mr Godolphin said the force has not received any refund from Honda.

The new bikes have been used by other forces for the past two years and have a good safety record, he added.

Police are waiting for agreement from forces in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire before the final go-ahead.

Two Honda Medibikes used by paramedics in Oxfordshire were taken off the roads last year amid similar safety fears.

But they were soon back in service because they were a different model and did not wobble at high speeds.

A coroner's report in Lancaster in 2006 blamed a Honda ST1300 machine for an accident which led to the death of a police officer and said the motorcycles were a "serious threat to officers' lives".

Coroner Dr James Adeley wrote to all chief constables after PC James Shreeve, of The Wirral, was thrown from his motorcycle and killed during training in 2005.

His inquest, at Lancaster last June, heard he was travelling at 110mph on the M58 when the motorcycle began to shake violently, known as a speed weave.

The coroner recommended the Honda ST1300 should not be used in excess of 80mph for fear of a "catastrophic result".

The bikes were removed after recommendations by the Association of Chief Police Officers.