POLICING costs related to AFC Bournemouth matchdays set the force back more than £26,000 per game on average, but the club was charged less than a quarter of this.

The figures, which relate to the first 13 home Premier League matches of last season, show Dorset Police's costs were £342,354.60, but Cherries only had to pay £76,269.90 – a difference of £266,084.70.

A senior police officer told the Daily Echo disparity was in part because the force could only charge for certain aspects of their costs due to legal precedent.

The statistics also showed officer numbers at games varied, with 67 at the match against Southampton, 21 at the mid-week clash with Burnley and 35 at the other 11 contests.

Superintendent Mike Rogers, of the Alliance Operations Department, said forces have different ways of costing their football matches in terms of the resources in place, which can explain the disparity between the figures.

“In Dorset each game is given a category, based on a threat assessment in conjunction with the club. Based on this categorisation, we will then deploy a set number of officers on a matchday to police the game itself and the wider town," he said.

“It is important to stress that Dorset Police does not make a profit out of football. Under legislation we can only charge for certain aspects of our policing costs, not our total costs. This is as a result of legal precedent.

“In line with this, our costs charged to the club only cover the officers who are at the ground itself and just for the time they are in attendance. While the overall cost to the force shown in the figures covers the cost of all officers required as part of the matchday operation for their whole shift.

“This is reflected with any event held in the county, where we can only charge for our policing on the ground within ticketed areas and not the wider policing effort across the locality."

Supt Rogers said he believes AFC Bournemouth home matches are appropriately policed.

He added that in recent years the force has looked to minimise police assets at matches, instead providing assistance to the club to steward matches.

“We have an excellent relationship with the club and we liaise with AFCB to ensure the policing of games is constantly reviewed," he said.