A special grant of £250,000 has been provided to Gloucestershire Police to help police the perimeter of RAF Fair-ford .

The costs of the police operations are eligible to be met by a special Home Office grant.

The money was authorised by Home Secretary David Blunkett, who recognised the extra pressure that policing the airbase while the war on Iraq is ongoing was putting on the force.

The authority has been invited to make a full case for further special grants, but this first advance payment of £250,000 has been agreed to due to the substantial costs already.

The airbase is currently the home of 14 American B-52 bombers, which are being actively used to strike targets deep inside Iraqi territory.

Last week, the force brought in 1,000 officers from 18 forces across the country to line the route of a Stop the War Coalition peace march.

Around 2,000 activists were involved in the protest, which saw scores of police dressed in riot gear. Six people were arrested outside the base last Saturday.

The operations at Fairford are the largest ever conducted by Gloucester-shire police, who are also working in conjunction with Ministry of Defence and United States Air Force Security services.