MAY 7: TAXPAYERS will foot the bill for Swindon hotels used by police officers from all over Britain who controlled peace protests at RAF Fairford.

All but one of the country's 43 police authorities provided support for the Gloucestershire force as campaigners demonstrated against the Iraq war and the presence of American B-52 bombers. And it is believed that the peace demos and high security before and during the war meant netted town hotels thousands of pounds in business.

Gloucestershire spokesman Steve Partridge, said: "We do not comment on the specific cost of operations. We can confirm that the Constabulary and Gloucestershire police authority are seeking reimbursement of the cost of policing the perimeter at RAF Fairford from Government funds."

At the three-star Goddard Arms Hotel in Old Town, Swindon, general manager general manager Justin Hickman declined to say how much the hotel had made from the officers' stay.

But he said: "It meant quite a chunk of business, We had 30 per day staying with us and it went on for 12 weeks."

The cheapest room during the week, for a minimum of a two night stay at the Goddards, is a single room at £55 per night, which includes dinner, bed and breakfast. Disregarding concessions, if that charge was levied against the police authority for those 30 officers, that would net the hotel around £138,000.

Tim Bowler of the Hilton Hotel, close to junction 16 of the M4, also confirmed that police officers from forces outside Wiltshire and Gloucestershire had stayed there. All the hotel's facilities, including bars and leisure club, would have been available to them.