HUNDREDS of police officers from Hampshire are going on the march in their fight for a fair pay deal.

About 300 people from all ranks within the force are expected to take part in a national rally in London on January 23.

That equates to about ten per cent of the county's employees, ranging from uniformed officers to detectives in CID and chief inspectors.

It comes after the Police Federation of England and Wales reached a pay deal but then the Home Office announced it would not be backdated as agreed.

The decision is said to have lost officers, who have no legal right to strike, an average of £200.

Coordinated by Hampshire Police Federation, officers will board eight coaches and be taken to the capital to take part in a protest march outside Westminster and the Houses of Parliament.

Those planning to take part in the rally, arranged by the national federation, will only be able to join the event if they are on a day off or have taken holiday.

County federation chairman Geoff Crowe said they were keen to ensure that residents of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight remained safe and in receipt of their usual service and that colleagues remaining at work were not understaffed.

In total about 14,000 police officers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to descend on London.

The bitter row between the national federation and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith blew up in December after she revealed the 2.5 per cent pay rise for police, agreed at arbitration, would not be backdated.

Federation bosses claimed the pay rise really amounted to just 1.9 per cent, as it started on December 1 and not in September.

There are now also calls for a ballot for all officers to give them the right to strike.

Mr Crowe told the Daily Echo: "What has happened has clearly had an effect on morale in Hampshire in the run-up to Christmas.

"People feel very strongly. However, the vast majority of officers in the county would never want to go on strike.

"We are concerned not so much about the pay we have not gained from it being backdated, but about the Government, who have clearly interfered with our pay bargaining process.

"The rally is about getting the Government to back our call for binding arbitration."