NORTH Yorkshire and York has a new police, fire and crime commissioner.

Zoë Metcalfe has been elected to the post following yesterdays by-election and becomes commissioner immediately.

Simon Dennis, chief executive of the office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner said: “I am delighted to welcome Zoë to the role of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Together with the Chief Constable and the Interim Chief Fire Officer, I look forward to working with her in the years ahead.

“I also want to thank Jenni Newberry for serving as Acting Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for the past few weeks and all the team at the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner who have worked so hard to ensure our work continued without interruption ahead of this by-election.”

Ms Metcalfe was the Conservative candidate to replace Philip Allott who resigned as commissioner in October after a unanimous vote of no confidence in him by the area's police and crime panel of councillors.

His resignation followed a storm of protest after he suggested former York woman Sarah Everard should not have "submitted" to being arrested by Wayne Couzens, the Metropolitan police officer who kidnapped and murdered her, and suggested that women needed to be more "streetwise" about police powers of arrest.

Ms Metcalfe is a Harrogate district and county councillor who is a project manager for a property asset management company and has set up and run a children’s mental health charity.