Temporary chief constable to leave force

Temporary chief constable Alex Murray will leave in August to take a job at the National Crime Agency

West Mercia Police's stand-in chief constable has announced he will leave next month as the force struggles to fill the post permanently.

Alex Murray will move to the National Crime Agency, where he has been named director of threat leadership.

His deputy, Richard Cooper, will lead the force on an interim basis from 29 August.

West Mercia Police as been unable to find a permanent replacement since Pippa Mills announced she would step down almost a year ago.

Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Richard Cooper will now lead the force from the end of August

The force said its police and crime commissioner, John Campion, would begin the process of identifying a permanent chief constable later this year.

Mr Campion chose Kyle Gordon as Ms Mills's successor in December.

However, in June, it was announced he would no longer take up the role, due to a "change in circumstances".

"It is not unusual in senior leadership in policing that senior leaders go on to other roles," Mr Campion told the BBC on Wednesday.

He added there had been a "good" level of interest in the role.

"To be a chief police officer, there are a lot of requirements including that you have passed the course and are a serving assistant chief constable or above," he said.

"That does limit the number of people that can do it nationally probably to about 200 people. So getting that handful of interest is a good number."

Mr Campion thanked the outgoing temporary chief constable and added that he believed his replacement, Richard Cooper, would provide "continuity and stability" in the meantime.