Avon and Somerset Police job advert attracts 4,000 responses

About 4,000 people have applied for just 35 police officer jobs, the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Avon and Somerset has revealed.

A website with an online assessment - the first stage of the recruitment process - opened on 25 February and closed on 1 March.

The force said all who completed the first stage would get equal consideration to go to the next stage.

It has been more than two years since the force recruited police officers.

PCC Sue Mountstevens welcomed the volume of applications and said 4,000 responses was "great".

"We made sure that our website didn't crash, as others did, and now they will be going through the process of situational reviews and look to see how we can narrow it down," she said.

Avon and Somerset Police said it was looking to recruit individuals who were "up to the challenge of becoming one of Avon and Somerset's finest".