THE Home Office has rejected the latest request for extra cash to pay for the cost of policing fracking protests at Preston New Road.

County crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw has urged police minister Nick Hurd to reconsider the decision to reimburse the Lancashire force the full £7million cost of the operation.

The government has offered just £1.4million, the minimum allowed.

Mr Grunshaw said: “This is a bitter blow and I have already written back to Nick Hurd urging him to reconsider

“This is a resource demand which is not likely to leave Lancashire any time soon. This is not just an issue for Blackpool and the Fylde; officers from across Lancashire continue to undertake shifts at the site.”