THE police precept is set to rise in Cheshire but the extra funding will finance 50 additional officers and PCSOs, the county's police and crime commissioner has confirmed.

David Keane has outlined plans to increase the precept as part of his budget for 2019 to 2020.

As a result, the precept will rise by an average of £2 per month.

Mr Keane hopes the funding for the additional 43 frontline police officers and seven PCSOs over the next year will help prevent complex crime.

He added: “I have spent the last year lobbying central government for a properly funded police service for Cheshire residents and I am not comfortable that the government has, once again, shifted the burden of police funding onto the taxpayer.

“Raising the precept is not a decision I have taken lightly as I realise any increase in taxation will be challenging for some of our residents.

"However, the chief constable needs this extra investment in frontline officers to deliver a police service which is effective in keeping our communities safe.

“We have lost 135 officers since 2010 and this budget will help us start to address the adverse effects austerity has had on police numbers.

"The extra officers will help prevent complex crime, which often starts in our communities, at its root-cause.

"They will also be integral in further developing the community base model, introduced in 2018 to bring back real neighbourhood policing to Cheshire.”

Within the budget, the commissioner has also earmarked funding for a dedicated cyber-crime support team within each policing unit to deliver prevention activity for cyber-crime.

Additional funding has also been allocated to support the investigation of domestic abuse which affects one in four women and one in six men in their lifetime.