Chris Haward confirmed as new Lincolnshire Police chief

Chris Haward was confirmed as the county's new chief constable by a police and crime panel earlier

A new chief constable has been chosen for Lincolnshire's police force.

Chris Haward will take up the £160,000-a-year post later this month after being confirmed by a police and crime panel earlier.

Mr Haward said he was "absolutely delighted" to be selected and was looking forward to "some exciting challenges".

He will take over the force's top job from Bill Skelly, who announced his retirement in June.

Mr Haward, who spent his childhood in Zambia and Botswana, said "diversity, fairness and equality" were of paramount importance to him.

More news from across Lincolnshire

He said he also wanted to make the best use of resources to reduce crime and help those who wanted to "step away from offending".

"Fundamentally, our role is about helping those people who are most in need," he added.

Mr Haward, who is currently deputy chief constable with the East Midlands Special Operation Unit, was the preferred candidate of Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones.

Mr Jones said he was delighted to be able to "bring a senior officer of Chris' experience and commitment to Lincolnshire".

The appointment comes after the process to appoint a new chief was restarted in October following what were described as "procedural complications".

However, it is not known if Mr Jones' previous preferred candidate, Paul Gibson, reapplied, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.