THE new head of policing for Southern Division took up his post this week.

Based at Leyland Police Station, Chief Superintendent Paul Harry will be responsible for the policing of Chorley, West Lancashire and South Ribble.

He takes over from Andy Lincoln, who retired last month.

Paul spent much of his early police service in Chorley and Preston, after joining the Constabulary in 1976.

He rose steadily through the ranks and, in 1989, was appointed Superintendent in charge of the then Rawtenstall Division.

He returned to headquarters in 1994, to be head of the personnel department, where he spent the following two years. He was the officer-in-charge of the performance review department between 1996 and 1999, and spent several months of last year as an Acting Assistant Chief Constable in charge of operational policing.

Since January he has been the head of corporate improvement, based at Hutton.

He said: "I am very pleased to have been appointed Divisional Commander for Southern Division.

"It is a post I applied for and feel very fortunate to have been given this opportunity to work in the Constabulary's largest geographic policing division.

"In some ways I am returning to my roots, given that much of my early service was spent in the area. I'm sure there will be experiences I can draw on from then that will help me and all my colleagues in the future."

Paul, 52, is married to Margaret -- a teacher in Leyland -- and the couple, who live in Longton, have three grown-up children. His hobbies include motorcycling and fell walking.