CHESHIRE Police’s chief constable has announced that he will be retiring next year.

Darren Martland was appointed as head of the force in February 2019 after serving as acting chief constable for a period, succeeding Simon Byrne.

He has now announced his intention to retire from the role in spring 2021, a recruitment process to find his replacement will begin in the New Year.

Chief constable Martland said: “It has been an honour and privilege to serve the public as a police officer for more than 30 years, and I have made the very difficult decision to retire from policing in order to enable me to spend more time with my family and pursue other personal interests.

“I am immensely proud to have led such a wonderful organisation and I have no doubt that – given the professionalism, care and commitment demonstrated by our staff and volunteers – Cheshire Police will meet the current and future policing challenges, and will continue to make Cheshire safer.”

Mr Martland started his policing career in 1990 after graduating from Sheffield University.

He originally served in the Knowsley area before joining Cheshire Police in 1999, working in Halton and Macclesfield before being posted to the eastern area of the county as a chief inspector.

After spells with the Merseyside and Cumbria forces, he returned to Cheshire in 2017.

Paying tribute to the police chief, Cheshire police and crime commissioner David Keane said : “I want to thank Darren personally for more than 30 years of service to the public as a police officer, and in particular for his commitment to making Cheshire safer during his tenure as our chief constable.

“As chief constable, Darren has served through one of the most challenging times in living memory – overseeing the policing response to the Covid-19 pandemic and delivering operational policing against a backdrop of severe financial challenges.

“Despite these challenges, Darren has been able to see through the introduction of Cheshire’s new community policing model as part of our ambition to make Cheshire the best in the country at community policing.

“In addition, his commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion has seen Cheshire Police ranked 12th in the Inclusive UK Employers Awards 2020/21.

“It has been a privilege to work with Darren and together we have created a strong foundation on which to build.

“It is a huge honour and responsibility to appoint the next chief constable of Cheshire Police, and I am confident that with these foundations in place it will be possible to find an exceptional candidate to build on our substantial achievements.

“In the meantime, I will continue to work with Darren on behalf of the public of Cheshire to build on our successes and to make Cheshire safer.

“I intend to start the process of recruiting our next chief constable early in the New Year.

“Details of the procedure will be announced in due course.”