Extra cash for Soham police

Holly Wells (left) and Jessica Chapman

Police in Cambridgeshire have been given £3.55m to help pay for the inquiry into the disappearance and deaths of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

The force had asked the government for £5.2m due to the "extraordinary costs" of the operation, one of the biggest missing person inquiries ever seen in the UK.

Cambridgeshire Police Authority had warned it might have to cut services or raise council taxes by up to 28% because of the expense.

Police forces are entitled to ask for special help from the Home Office if the cost of an inquiry exceeds 1% of its annual budget.

The force also had to police lab protests

The news was welcomed by authority chairman John Reynolds who called it a "significant boost".

A spokeswoman added: "Clearly the investigation is still ongoing and it is possible that we will make further applications for funding to the Home Office later in the year."

Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both 10, disappeared from their homes in Soham in August and were found dead two weeks later.

The inquiry into the case, Operation Fincham, involved 426 officers from 21 forces.

It led to the charging of former Soham caretaker Ian Huntley with murder and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

His ex-girlfriend Maxine Carr faces a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The force was also given £1.1m towards the cost of policing animal rights demonstrations at drugs testing firm Huntingdon Life Sciences.