CLEVELAND'S Police Commissioner claims to carrying out the biggest public engagement exercise in the history of the force.

Barry Coppinger took part in his 200th community meeting in Nunthorpe, near Middlesbrough, on Tuesday.

Mr Coppinger said he was fulfilling a pledge he made to the people of Teesside before he was elected and urged other groups to come forward and arrange meetings.

The idea is for the commissioner to identify various problems that come up in the meetings and try and improve the police response.

He said: “I’ve given my commitment to the people of Cleveland; this isn’t a nine-to-five job and I’m not paying lip-service to seeking people’s views.

“When I was elected I pledged to be in communities and that my priorities would be driven by residents’ concerns. I wasn’t going to sit in an office and wait for people to come to me so I took a decision to put on my coat and go and speak to people on the streets and community venues where they meet, across 82 wards in Cleveland, regardless of whether it’s an evening or weekend.

“I’ve spent many hours over 200 meetings engaging with people as part of this campaign and have visited every community across Cleveland, it’s definitely a service that people deserve from their Police and Crime Commissioner and I’m happy to continue.”

Nunthorpe councillor Brenda Thompson said: “Our meeting heard from the commissioner about the work he is doing and residents took the opportunity to raise a number of questions and concerns”

Anyone interested in speaking with the Commissioner can attend one of the Your Force, Your Voice meetings, details of the meetings can be found by visiting his website cleveland.pcc.police.uk