POLICE today pledged to improve after it was revealed black people in Lancashire were almost three times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.

And Trevor Phillips, chair of the Commission For Racial Equality (CRE), called for an end to the 'racial bias' and said he "deplored the failure to use the powers fairly."

Police acknowledged that the Lancashire figure was too high, but pointed out that it was much less than the national average, which showed that a black person was eight times more likely to be stopped and searched than a white person.

Superintendent Ian Cardwell said Lancashire Constabulary was committed to delivering a fair service for all. but admitted "there was a lot of work to be done."

Police are now embarking on research to see how they can improve for next year. A multi-agency 'race issue group' has been set up to focus on these issues.

Mr Phillips added: "Every black man in this country knows what it is to fear being stopped walking down the street or driving in their car.

"My message to police chiefs is that the trend must change. We know that all chief police officers agree with our aims, but we must now achieve results." The statistics were revealed following months of research by police who compared the findings of two major national reports on race and police powers to Lancashire figures.

Police said the analysis had shown that Lancashire was "well-placed in the national picture." While black people were three times more likely to be stopped, Asian and white people were searched in virtually equal numbers.

The national average shows Asian people are stopped three times more.

Nationally, ethnic minority communities are more likely to be crime victims, but this was not the case in the county. White people were victims in 93.4 per cent of cases.

Police said they were making good progress to reach targets of employing people from ethnic minorities, compared to the national scenario, were people from those backgrounds were under-represented.

But Lancashire reflected the national picture in that ethnic minorities were less satisfied with police response rates.

Mr Ian Cardwell added: "Lancashire Constabulary is committed to delivering a policing service that is fair, equitable and accessible, which meets the needs of all the communities in Lancashire.

"The progress we have made so far has been down to hard work and careful reflection on how we deliver our services. That hard work will continue."