IT is ironic that the BBC's controversial "Rent A Cop" series should be such a North-East talking point at a time when police chiefs in the region are voicing grave concerns about funding reforms.

Rightly or wrongly, former professional boxer Francis Jones, the focal point of the BBC3 programme, has based his Darlington security business on the premise that there are gaps in traditional policing. He is telling a fascinated national television audience that his kind of business is needed to keep local people safe – and there are justifiable concerns that such a message is being so widely broadcast.

Durham's Police and Crime Commissioner, Ron Hogg, meanwhile, has been giving evidence to a Government select committee considering proposed changes to police funding. He told the committee that his primary concern was his police force's "ability to prevent and protect".

Only last month, Durham Constabulary was hailed as the country's best police force by Government watchdogs so Mr Hogg's fears should be echoing around the corridors of power.

If the country's most efficient police force is struggling to cope with the fight against crime, imagine how exposed other forces must feel.

Mr Hogg's North Yorkshire counterpart Julia Mulligan has gone as far as to join six other British police commissioners in taking legal advice on launching a judicial review over further cuts to police resources.

At a time when the pressure on police forces has never been greater, it is a serious development that police chiefs should feel the need to consider legal action to underline their fears for public safety.

Britain should be guarding against leaving the kind of holes in traditional policing which encourage "rent a cop" private companies to move into communities.