Durham Police are beginning the search for a new chief constable after George Hedges announced he will retire in the autumn.

Mr Hedges, 60, who has held the post for five years, plans to end his 43-year career, which started as a cadet in Oxfordshire, at the end of September.

Mr Hedges, who was previously deputy chief constable, took over the top job in Durham on the retirement of the late Frank Taylor.

Crime levels have consistently fallen since 1993, the county has a record number of bobbies on the beat, 1,600, and the force has forged strong community partnerships.

Last year the force achieved the rare distinction of a report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary that contained no recommendations for improvement.

Mr Hedges told the Police Authority yesterday: "I don't look forward to September and I don't leave this force for any other reason than I'm 60, I have had more than 40 years of policing and it's time to step aside for someone else."

He added: "I have other things I want to do. I shall miss it enormously."

Chairman Joe Knox said: "We thought it would a hard act to follow when Frank Taylor went.

"George has given a high profile to the force and will be a really hard act to follow. It is with great regret that I see him retire but at the end of the day it is his decision. "When I see the working relationship we have had with the chief, and when officers say what their working relationship with him has meant, it tells us that to look for a new chief constable of the calibre of George isn't going to be easy."

Councillor Knox added that Mr Hedges had been appointed unanimously, which was "quite outstanding. In my 20 years on the Police Authority I can't remember that ever happening."

Mr Hedges, who is married with two sons, a daughter and five grandchildren, was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 1993.

A sports enthusiast, he is former president of Willington Football Club and is chairman of the county's Association of Clubs for Young People.