MODERN policing came faceto- face with its Sixties counterpart on a rural moorland yesterday.

Grahame Maxwell, chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, paid a visit to the set of the popular Sunday night television show, Heartbeat.

Mr Maxwell met members of the cast at the Goathland Hotel, at Goathland, on the North York Moors.

He was visiting the set to offer support for the National Policing Pledge, the Government’s ten-point pledge with which all UK forces must comply by the end of the year.

While on the set, Mr Maxwell confirmed that the North Yorkshire force had met its requirements for the pledge.

He said his aim was to promote the force’s message of delivering modern policing in a traditional way. Mr Maxwell said that a partnership with the show was a good way of getting that idea over.

He said: “The adoption of our policing pledge provides an excellent opportunity to further focus on delivering the force’s services in a bespoke and citizen-focused way, by defining some of the key principles behind our service delivery.

“Heartbeat is a fantastic show and a great platform on which to launch our pledge.

“It features many aspects of traditional policing that we, as a modern force, adopt today.”

The national ten-point promise, introduced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith earlier this year, pledges that: “The police service in England and Wales will support law-abiding citizens and pursue criminals relentlessly to keep neighbourhoods safe from harm.”

Among the areas covered by the pledge are police forces treating victims with respect, ensuring that patrols are visible and seeking to answer all 999 calls within ten seconds.

Also included in the pledge is arriving at emergencies in urban areas within 15 minutes, stretching to 20 minutes for incidents that happen in rural areas.

The pledge calls on the police to respond to non-emergencies within 24 hours.

Heartbeat, which revolves around a group of police officers in a fictional North Yorkshire town, has spanned 18 series on ITV, since its launch in 1992.

The series is based on the Constable series of books by former police officer Peter Walker, writing under the pen name Nicholas Rhea.