POLICE picked up the keys to their £40m headquarters on Friday.

HBG Construction, which was contracted to build the state-of-theart building, handed over ownership of the Winsford base to Cheshire Constabulary.

The company started work on the Woodford Park site last June and since then residents living nearby have watched as builders have transformed it from a desolate waste ground into a nerve centre from which all the force's operations across the county will be controlled.

Police spokeswoman Jane Gregory said: 'We have been handed the building. We will be having an official handing-over ceremony on November 10 and before then some of our staff will start to move into the building.'

Work on the constabulary's showpiece headquarters and training centre has been completed in about 70 weeks.

The £40m project, which has the support of Winsford Town Council and Winsford Area Working Group, has the financial backing of the Treasury and has created hundreds of jobs.

When fully up and running early next year, the headquarters will accommodate 900 personnel who will deal with administration duties, training and support to crime operations including forensics. It will also house the Constabulary Command Team.

But firearms training, dog training and vehicle training will be banned from the site in order to cut down on noise disturbance for residents living close to the site.