Rising fuel bills could force the Metropolitan Police to make cutbacks, according to the man who represents rank-and-file officers.

The Met's fuel bill has gone up from £10.7 million in 2006 to £12.2 million this year as petrol prices continue to rocket.

There are reports that officers are being asked to hunt out the cheapest petrol stations when they fill up.

Peter Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, told the Surrey Comet he did not think recruitment would suffer, but said money would have to be saved somewhere.

"It stands to reason that if you have a budget and part of your budget goes up as substantially as petrol is, something has to give.

"I'm not aware of any plans to cut recruitment - the Met are committed to training 2,200 police by March. If there were I would make some very strong statements.

"The budget will affect something else whether it means a new police station being delayed or new computer equipment being held back.

"Everyone can see the Government are doing nothing about it. They are taking more and more but not giving anything back."

The Metropolitan Police has 6,500 vehicles which travel a total of 63 million miles a year.

Much of the fuel is bought on bulk at discount prices but drivers have reportedly been asked to look for the cheapest petrol available.

Hampshire Police director of finance Michael Coombes told the Mail on Sunday that if fuel costs continued to rise to £1.50 a litre by the end of the summer, it could face a shortfall of £1 million, meaning fewer student recruits.

The Met Police did not deny it would follow suit.

A spokesman said: "Our officer are always asked to seek out the cheapest patrol stations. No-one says go to the most expensive ones.

"The MPS like any other organisation has to cope with price inflation generally. and particularly so in the face of vast fuel bills. Providing the best possible services to the public will always however remain our highest priority."