A REVOLUTIONARY new police radio system pioneered in Lancashire was today due to hit the airwaves across the force's eastern division.

Police officers in Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley were due to start using the digital TETRA devices.

Concerns had been previously been raised about the safety of the new radios because of the radiation risk and the possibility that they could interfere with vital electronic equipment, such as hospital machines.

But tests by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) identified no health hazards and proved they were safe to use.

The £1,000 mobile phone-style radios, which cannot be intercepted by criminals, will mean an end to office chores and allow individual officers access to police computers directly while out on the streets.

The features of a standard mobile phone also mean that officers will be able to talk direct to members of the public without having to return to the station.

And developers are hoping within a few months the facilities will also be extended to include text messaging on mobile and vehicle radios, touch screens in vehicles which will allow details of vehicles or individuals to be almost instantly accessed and automatic vehicle tracking.

The new system, which Lancashire piloted for the Police Information Technology Organisation, began with 300 staff in the force's Central Division in Preston.

The introduction of the system is not the first time the county has led police in radio technology. In the 1960s the force pioneered the use of Walkie-Talkies for officers, a milestone which was followed by the rest of the country.