West Mercia detective paid £20,000 in overtime in year

One West Mercia Police detective was paid more than £20,000 in overtime in a year

A detective was paid more than £20,000 in overtime in a year, a BBC Freedom of Information request found.

The officer was working for West Mercia Police, which spent £9.5m on staff overtime costs over two years.

Elsewhere in the West Midlands region, Staffordshire police spent £8.57m, Cheshire £6.49m, West Midlands £3.29m and Warwickshire £352,407.

West Mercia Police Federation said its only concern over the detective's overtime would be his or her welfare.

Asked about the largest amount of total overtime paid to one individual, the West Mercia force said it gave £20,155.60 to a detective sergeant in 2012 and £15,971.69 to one in 2013.

It spent more than £9.5m on overtime for police officers and other staff in 2012 and 2013.

'Interesting' figures

Asked how much had been spent on staff overtime, the Staffordshire force said more than £8.57m was paid in total over 2012/13 and 2013/14 for officers and staff and Cheshire said more than £6.49m in total was paid in 2012 and 2013.

Staffordshire Police paid £15,705.95 to one sergeant in 2012/13, while Cheshire Constabulary paid £11,492.95 to one in overtime in 2013.

West Midlands Police, which spent more than £3.29m on support staff overtime in 2013 and 2014, paid £29,000 to one person over two years.

Warwickshire Police paid out more than £352,400 for non-police officers' overtime in 2012 and 2013, with one person receiving £8,522.54 in 2013.

Russ Yeomans, West Mercia Police Federation chairman, said the force's figures were "interesting" but that further analysis of the reasons behind them were needed.

"In relation to the individual, without knowing the reasons for the overtime, it would be inappropriate for me to comment, other than to say my only concern over excessive overtime would be the officer's welfare," he said.