Thames Valley Police officers are to get an extra 2,000 a year to offset the cost of living in the region.

The allowance, which Police Federation bosses said would 'ease the pain' of high rent and housing costs, will be paid to all officers who joined the force after September 1, 1994.

Thames Valley chief constable Sir Charles Pollard said he hoped the allowance would go some way to alleviating the force's major recruitment and retention problems.

The force has lost 180 officers 120 of them to other forces this financial year. The money, which is subject to final approval by Home Secretary Jack Straw, will apply to all officers who joined the force after the controversial Sheehy report, which took away housing allowances for new recruits.

Serving officers at the time of the report were allowed to keep their allowances, leading to a two-tier pay system. Sir Charles said of the new award: "There's little doubt that the cost of living in the south east has had a serious impact on our ability to recruit and retain officers and there's still much to do to resolve this problem completely."

He also praised the work of the Thames Valley Police Authority chairman and Police Negotiating Board member, Glenn Maybury, and the Thames Valley Police Federation in securing the allowance.

Federation chairman Insp Martin Elliott said: "It's excellent news, especially for recruits coming into the service, because 80 per cent of our recruits come from outside the Thames Valley.

"This will make a big difference to recruitment because the starting salary will be just below 20,000.

"We'll have to wait and see whether it makes a difference to retention."

The allowance, which covers all forces adjoining London, will come into effect on April 1.

But teachers in Oxfordshire reacted angrily to the news. Although police officers and nurses have got extra cash to help with the high cost of living in the county, they have missed out. County branch secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Mark Forder, said: "We are very anxious about this. The teacher shortages in Oxfordshire are becoming more pressing by the day."

Nurses in the south east will get 2.5 per cent extra, up to a maximum of 600, in their April pay packets to help cover higher living cots.

Debbie Pearman, of the Oxford branch of the Royal College of Nursing said nurses were "outraged". There was also a 15 per cent difference between police and nurses' starting pay.