THAMES Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary have appointed a joint Information and Communication Technology Director.

It is believed that the appointment of John Hall represents the first time such a joint role has been created by two police forces in the UK.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said Mr Hall, 57, who lives in Surrey, had almost 30 years experience in IT, primarily in a financial services background.

He will be based at Hampshire Constabulary headquarters in Winchester, but will divide his time between the two forces.

The spokesman said he would manage about 320 staff across the two forces.