WOMEN police officers in Herefordshire and Worcestershire are taking far more sick days than their male counterparts, new figures reveal.

West Mercia's female officers took an average of 18 days off through ill-health last year, compared to just 12 days missed by the men.

The high rate of sickness among women officers is dragging down the force's attempts to hit Government targets to cut the number of sick days.

All forces have been told to cut their absence rates to the levels achieved by the 25 per cent best performing forces.

Currently, West Mercia's overall sickness rate is higher than the national average, at 13.2 days missed per officer in the year ending last April.

But if the women were excluded its record would be only slightly worse than the average, which is currently 11.7 days missed per year.

Last year, the Home Office announced sick and injured police officers would be offered private health care to get them back on the beat faster.

Forces have been told to take advantage of private health schemes to help them jump the queue at local NHS hospitals.

A parliamentary written answer revealed that the sick rate was significantly higher amongst women officers in around two-thirds of police forces.