Over 1,600 officers have been recruited to Cambridgeshire Police, the highest number in its history.

As of the end of March this year, 145 officers had been recruited to the force under the national police uplift programme, more than the initial 124 allocated to the scheme.

Cambridgeshire now has 1,671 officers, with 34.7 per cent of those women and 4.6pc from ethnic minorities, a rise from four years ago.

“It is great news that we have hit our year two target and the increase in officer numbers is good news for the county,” chief constable Nick Dean said.

“The force is now in a good position to push on to this year’s target.

“However, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels, and recruitment work continues to get people with the right attributes and skills to consider policing as a career.”

Nationally, 13,576 extra officers have been recruited under the police uplift programme, as it aims to reach 20,000 new recruits by next March.