A FORMER Redditch police constable has been appointed as the new chief constable of West Mercia Police – promising to build a "strong, confident and compassionate" crime-fighting force.

Anthony Bangham has landed the £143,000 role after winning the unanimous support of the police and crime panel at Worcestershire County Council on Tuesday, August 9.

Mr Bangham, who was nominated by West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion, is the first chief constable to lead the force having started his career in West Mercia as a police constable 25 years ago.

After his appointment was confirmed, Mr Bangham said: "I am delighted to be confirmed as chief constable for West Mercia Police and look forward to meeting the public and staff who serve the communities of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Worcestershire.

"As chief constable, I want to lead a strong, confident and compassionate West Mercia; an organisation in which the officers and staff always put the public first, always focus on protecting the most vulnerable and always give the very best service to victims of crime and anti-social behaviour."

To mark the appointment, he will spend the next three days touring Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire meeting staff and members of the communities.

Mr Bangham will visit Redditch where he started his policing career as a probationary constable, Kidderminster where he attended primary school, Shrewsbury, Hereford - his home city, Worcester, Telford, Bromyard and Bridgnorth.

His vast policing work includes stints in Redditch, where he began his career in 1991, Droitwich, Bromsgrove and Worcester, where he served as a sergeant and Chief inspector.

He was superintendent in Hereford in 2003 and in 2005, was seconded to London to work on a big national project looking at firearms which led to the introduction of Tasers in the UK.

Before returning to West Mercia Police in 2014 as deputy chief constable, his four years in Avon and Somerset included being ‘gold commander’ at Glastonbury Festival, still the biggest festival in the world, and covering the biggest ever march from the right wing EDL group in Bristol.

He was also gold commander for the infamous November 2011 M5 fireball incident where seven people were killed and 51 injured after a thick fog sparked one of Britain’s deadliest motorway pile-ups.

Mr Bangham, who lives in Herefordshire with his wife and two children, has national roles as policing lead for animal diseases and police pursuits, and is a proud local ambassador for the Prince's Trust.

The salary is £143,334, which is set by central Government as a suggested salary for a force the size of West Mercia.