DAVID Whatton has been appointed as the new chief constable of Cheshire Constabulary.

He was appointed after predecessor Peter Fahy moved on to take over the Greater Manchester force.

Ironically, prior to his appointment in Cheshire, Mr Whatton had been the deputy chief constable of GMP.

Welcoming his appointment on Thursday, Cheshire Police Authority chairman, cllr Peter Nurse, said: “The calibre of applicants was high but we are confident Mr Whatton is the right person to lead the Constabulary.

“The appointment of the chief constable is one of the most important things the Police Authority does and we are confident his experience, energy and ambition will enable him to further develop and improve policing.”

The Authority has asked Mr Whatton to focus his attention on continuing to improve performance, particularly in local neighbourhoods, which is the basis of policing in Cheshire. He’ll also have to work with tighter budgets and changes in local government arrangements early on.

“We wanted someone who would hit the ground running,” said cllr Nurse.

Married dad-of-three Mr Whatton said he was delighted with his new job, which he starts December 1.

He added: “I will use my skills and previous experience to lead the force and I want the people of Cheshire, Halton and Warrington to feel proud of their police and will work with my officers and staff to deliver a service that people have confidence in.”

Mr Whatton joined the West Midlands Police in April 1983, shortly after leaving school, and between 1992 and 1996 worked as a sergeant and inspector.

As a uniformed officer and detective he served in Birmingham, Sandwell and Wolverhampton before a secondment to the Regional Crime Squad and National Crime Squad as a detective inspector.

In 1998 he was promoted to superintendent, leap-frogging the rank of chief Inspector, and later worked as an operations superintendent in Walsall and chief superintendent, divisional commander, in Sutton Coldfield.

Within Greater Manchester, Mr Whatton has led a number of high-profile criminal and terrorist-related investigations and is a member of the ACPO terrorism and allied matters business area. He has a keen interest in this area of work.