The police officers that collect full pay... for working one HOUR a day

The wage bill for police in England and Wales currently on 'restrictive or recuperative duties' is £248million a year.

The rising number of officers unavailable for their normal crime-fighting duties is the equivalent of two medium-sized police forces.

High-stress job: The cost of police in England and Wales currently on 'R&R' duties is £248million per year

The 8,276 policemen and women are mostly on so-called 'R&R' duties after returning from long-term sick leave.

Many are restricted to desk-based duties rather than patrolling - filling in forms or answering phones - while those on recuperative duties work reduced hours, often as little as an hour a day, and are supposed to gradually increase their time at work.

All those on the 'R&R' duties are paid their full salary, averaging around £30,000 a year.

The annual cost to the taxpayer of a quarter of a billion pounds dwarves the £30million at the centre of the police pay row.

This was said to be the amount saved when Home Secretary Jacqui Smith slashed the annual settlement for officers, prompting thousands to march through London and leading the rank-and-file Police Federation to demand the right to strike.

Federation leaders last night insisted their members had a lower level of sickness absence than the public sector average despite the stresses and dangers of police work, and called for better health and safety and medical support to help officers get back to full duties.

The figures emerged in a survey of forces carried out by the Daily Mail under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Met, the largest force, had 1,887 officers on restrictive duties by the end of the 2007, or six per cent of the force's total strength - up from 1,744, or 5.7 per cent, the previous year.

Across the 43 forces in England and Wales the total number of officers on restrictive duty was 8,276 - a two per cent rise on last year's figure of 8,101 - also equivalent to one in every 17 officers.

Staffordshire Police had the highest proportion of officers on 'R&R' last year, at 9.9 per cent. At the other extreme, Bedfordshire Police reported only 1.8 per cent on restrictive duties. The £248million bill comes on top of the £110million spent on sick pay for officers each year.

Police officers take an average of 8.5 days off sick each year. The public sector average is 9.1 and the private sector average 6.4 days.

Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation, said: 'Policing can be extremely dangerous and stressful. It is often not appropriate for an officer suffering post traumatic stress or physical injury to return to full duties.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'We do not want to lose officers to ill-health retirement if they can continue to contribute.'

Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'This is a stark reminder of the dangerous and stressful work the police do on our behalf, and an illustration of how poorly the Government acts to rehabilitate officers.'