A SENIOR police officer, who has led one of the region's forces through a period of radical change, is to retire.

The Chief Constable of North Yorkshire, David Kenworthy, will step down at the end of the year after a five-year period, which has seen the culture of the force change.

Six years ago, two officers had to be disciplined over their handling of allegations of sexual harassment and initiation procedures at Harrogate CID.

But the force has seen major improvements under Mr Kenworthy's leadership since, recently picking up awards for its efforts in the field of diversity.

Announcing his plans to retire, Mr Kenworthy said the Government's proposed policing reforms had influenced his decision, as the changes he had planned for North Yorkshire Police would have taken some time to put in place.

"By law, I could only serve for another two years and the changes will need longer than that for implementation. Now is the time for fresh leadership. I look forward to new challenges outside policing," he said.

The search for a replacement starts later this month and the county's police authority hopes to have a successor in place by December.

The police authority chairman, Jane Kenyon, said: "Given the foundation which David Kenworthy has laid for us, and the reputation which the force now has, we are confident of attracting a high-calibre individual to serve the people of this area."

She added: "Ideally, we would have liked David to have stayed on for a further two years to move the force through the reform period and the resulting changes in policing, but he has decided to step down at the end of the year when his present contract expires."