Extra cash for summer policing remains a priority for Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick.

He claims that the county gets "not a bean" extra to cope with the influx of tens of thousands of visitors each year, and the policing challenges they bring with them.

The Commissioner is asking the Home Office to also consider, with its funding formula, the rurality of many parts of Dorset.

"There's a lot of difference when you have to drive 20 miles to get to a call, compared to two miles in a city," said Mr Sidwick at a recent meeting of the county's Police and Crime Panel.

He told councillors that the funding formula had long been skewed in favour of metropolitan areas and took little account of the large geographical areas of many rural forces, including Dorset.

Mr Sidwick said that while Dorset officers were often called upon under mutual aid agreements, to help with large national events, such as the G7 summit in Cornwall, or a range of events in London, including the Queen's state funeral, the idea of mutual support seemed not to work in the opposite direction when Dorset and neighbouring counties were trying to manage extra visitors in the summer with exactly the same, or reduced workforces.

He said he had been told that a consultation would be held about the funding formula this year and said he was confident of a better settlement for Dorset in the coming financial year, thanking Dorset MPs for their part in lobbying the Home Office and Police Minister on the issue.

Cllr Andrew Kerby described the subject of summer policing as "a toxic issue" for Dorset Police, because it was almost impossible to engage with visitors before they arrived to tell them how they were expected to behave once on holiday in the county.