THE first rookie officers to join a police force since it lifted its freeze on recruitment have begun their basic training.

The four - three women and a man - were sworn in by a magistrate at a ceremony at Durham Police's headquarters last night.

They are among 54 officers to be recruited between now and the end of next March by the force, which imposed a freeze on recruitment last year.

Two of the recruits have already worked for the force as police community support officers (PCSOs).

Ian Beacom, aged 42, from Low Fell, Gateshead, has two years' service under his belt, while 30-year-old Lisa Brown, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has been in the role less than a year.

Prior to joining the force 28-year-old Louise Ramshaw, of Burnopfield, County Durham, worked as an administrator, while Ann-Marie Ellison, 35, of Bishop Auckland, worked in a clerical capacity at the town's general hospital.

The four recruits applied to join the force in the spring of last year, but their appointments have been on hold since October due to a financial crisis which only ended in April, when the Government announced it would not impose a cap on the increase in the Council Tax precept agreed by Durham Police Authority.

Chief Constable Jon Stoddart said: "The brave decision by the police authority to raise the council tax has freed us from the financial straitjacket we found ourselves in and allowed us to press on with a modernisation programme that will reshape policing across County Durham and Darlington."

The trainees will undergo a 17-week initial training course at the North East Centre for Policing Skills (NECPS) based at Aykley Heads, Durham, and will complete their probationer training over a two-year period