But one of the rejected men, Matt Powell, 30, took action against the force, taking it to the tribunal on the grounds he had been discriminated against. Yesterday, the force was ordered to pay £2,500 compensation to Mr Powell.

Ian Anderson, the chairman of the Gloucestershire Police Federation which represents rank and file officers, said many of the white applicants who were turned down would be considering their legal positions.

"I know there were a lot of angry white men in Gloucestershire who were upset about the way they were treated. I know they were offered the chance to reapply, but many have now got other jobs and say they would never consider working for Gloucestershire Police again. Others were left disillusioned.

Police are under pressure to meet the government target, set in 1999, that by 2009 seven per cent of police officers in England and Wales should be from ethnic minorities.

The hearing heard that two-thirds of white men who applied to join Gloucestershire Police in a recruitment drive late last year were turned down.

An investigation by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the Equal Opportunities Commission found the force had unlawfully discriminated on the grounds of race and sex.

Mr Anderson blamed unrealistic government targets for the illegal recruitment campaign and claimed it had undermined confidence in the force locally.

"The government set a target of 7 per cent of the force to be from ethnic minorities, when ethnic minorities make up only around 2.8 per cent of the population."

The CRE also backed the tribunal's ruling and warned it would take action against other forces or public bodies found to be running illegal recruitment drives.

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