THAMES Valley Police has been named a funding "loser" in today's major report on the future of law and order in England.

The force was ranked 11 out of the18 worst hit by the way Government cash is handed out by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary.

Sir Ronnie, the Home Secretary's senior professional advisor on policing, said the latest funding formula suggested "considerable shifts in resources".

But the report says: "In the interests of financial stability however, the formula has never been fully applied. instead, a system of floors and ceilings has been used to damp down its impact."

It states: "Some forces are not receiving the funding they need to meet the risks they face."

The Home Office must move towards of "fuller application" of the funding formula.

The biggest "winners" in the report were the northern regions of Cumbria, Northumbria and North Yorkshire.