More than £2.5 million has been ploughed into police coffers with the sale of 20 police houses in Black Country boroughs in the last five years.

Police houses were originally provided as part of the overall remuneration package for officers who, for example, may have come to the West Midlands force from elsewhere in the country. For many years they were supplemented by a rent allowance paid to reflect the cost of an officer living in an alternative property.

However, the allowance was removed altogether for new recruits in 1994 and as a result, police chiefs have been selling off the housing stock although some have been converted into offices for police work.

New figures show 17 police houses have been sold off in the Black Country between 2004 and 2008.

In 2004 there were six sales, three of which were in Aldridge while the other three were in Wednesbury, Oldbury and Willenhall. In 2005 there were four sales, two in Willenhall, one in Tipton and the other in Kingswinford.

In 2006 there were six sales in Walsall, Wolverhampton, Halesowen, Aldridge and two in Stourbridge.

There were no sales in 2007 and the only one listed in 2008 was in Aldridge which sold last year.

West Midlands Police spokeswoman Joanne Hunt said: “The force policy is that if a police owned property is no longer required for operational use, it is sold. Proceeds from the sale of any properties go into the general force budget, which is then used for a variety of policing requirements.”