County's new police chief named

Ch Supt Andy Rowsell said he was delighted to return to Shropshire

A new police chief for Shropshire says he wants to make the county one of the safest places in England for people to work and live.

Ch Supt Andy Rowsell has taken over as the Shropshire divisional commander based in Shrewsbury.

He trained in Ludlow and recently worked as a senior investigations officer.

His predecessor, Guy Rutter, left to become the head of West Mercia Police's professional standards department.

Early career

Mr Rowsell, 44, is married with three sons and has spent his entire career with West Mercia Constabulary.

He joined the force as a probationer at Ludlow where he spent three years before a four-year stint as a detective constable at Leominster.

He has led a number of major inquiries in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin as the head of the division's Criminal Investigations Department.

He also completed an attachment working for the National Criminal Intelligence Service.

He said: "I am delighted to be back in Shropshire and I am looking forward to the challenge of being in charge of policing in the county."