Officers from the Thames Valley force spend a third of their time undertaking training and paperwork duties, according to Home Office figures.

It was shown that the year 2005/6 saw 33.9 per cent of the force's time spent carrying out such tasks - but it is believed that the real figure could effectively be higher because the definition of carrying out front-line policing includes time spend completing 'incident-related' paperwork.

Similar results were found in other areas of the country, such as Sussex, during a two-week 'snapshot' - and shadow home secretary Davis Davis condemned the findings.

He said: "Under Labour our police have become swamped in bureaucracy and red tape.

"As a result they are stuck behind their desks doing paper work, not out on the streets detecting and deterring crime. Labour should realise the public want the police to be crime fighters, not form writers."