The shadow of cash cuts still hangs over Cumbria police, with the county's chief constable saying his force is "particularly vulnerable" to funding changes.

Jerry Graham raised the spectre of financial uncertainty again - almost two years after planned cuts prompted warnings of a major change in policing.

Far-reaching proposals that prompted a major campaign by The Whitehaven News eventually failed to materialise.

But the spectre of possible future savings - in a system known as the funding formula - still looms on the horizon, says Mr Graham.

He revealed this in a document spelling out the current state of play in policing.

In the report to an oversight committee, Mr Graham also talked of current trends and problems in crimefighting.

Mr Graham said: "The financial position remains uncertain.

"Although policing was added to those public services protected from the worst effects of austerity, it does not exempt the constabulary from the need to make ongoing savings and efficiences.

"Cumbria is also particularly vulnerable to the impact of a new police funding formula planned to be introduced from 2018/19, which has the potential to have a detrimental effect on the resources available to police the county."

Plans released in autumn 2015 for cuts would have cost the force millions of pounds.

The Whitehaven News campaigned against the scale of planned cuts, with a petition backed by 14,471 people delivered to Downing Street.

The feared moves would have involved a change in the formula used to fund police forces, potentially leading to the loss of millions from this source of cash.

But the Government later shelved controversial changes.

Mr Graham said that "to plan for an uncertain future" he has drawn up a plan, to be developed over the next year.

On other issues, Mr Graham said that in terms of crime and disorder, the county remains one of the safest places in the country.

"Levels of anti-social behaviour in particular have shown a marked decline within the county over recent years," he added.

"The public of Cumbria remains overwhelmingly supportive of the service we provide, as demonstrated by consistently high user satisfaction levels."

He said, though, there were "no grounds for complacency".

Mr Graham added: "Over the pasty couple of years there has been a noticeable shift in the profile of offences being recorded by police, with an increase in the complexity of crime, which in turn requires more resources to investigate.

"To ensure that we understand and can respond effectively in an ever-changing world, we continually review our demand."

He spoke about changes in technology - and the impact of this.

"The rapid advances in digital technology is a double-edged sword, allowing policing systems and processes to be developed and made more effective," said Mr Graham.

"But it is also a facilitator of crime and requires new skillsets from policing if it is to be countered effectively.

"In relation to digital innovation in policing, Cumbria is recognised nationally as being at the leading edge in rolling out mobile technology to its officers and staff with the objective of improving their productivity."