POLICE crashes by the North Yorkshire force have amounted to a repair bill of almost £500,000 in the last two years.

And the most common place for staff to have accidents over the two years was in police station car parks or close to offices.

Officers and staff were involved in a total of 332 vehicle collisions throughout 2015 and 340 a year later, according to figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

The total repair bill came to £209,199 in 2015 and, 12 months later, came in at £266,346 - more than £50,000 more - a combined total of £475,545 within 24 months.

The most common place for staff to have accidents over the two years was in police station car parks or close to offices.

In 2015, police officers and staff crashed 49 times outside stations or offices.

A year later, according to the figures, North Yorkshire Police recorded 46 crashes at police stations and their offices.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said the taxpayer does not pick up the bill for crashes and they are covered by insurance.

The spokesman added: “North Yorkshire Police is self-insured in respect of damage to its vehicles.

“Where a third party is deemed to be responsible for an accident, the cost of repairs is recovered from the third party.”