I’M very sorry to learn of the sudden resignation of Cleveland’s latest Chief Constable, Mike Veale, whom I have met several times and who had some excellent ideas on reforming Cleveland Police.

There does however appear to be a jinx on our local constabulary; one of the few remaining vestiges of the long defunct Cleveland County Council.

It’s difficult to understand why but, throughout its life, Cleveland Police has been dogged by crisis after crisis, causing the demoralisation of its officers and a widespread loss of confidence amongst the public. A separate problem is that it’s one of the smallest police forces in the country.

To save Cleveland Police from its endemic malaise and, in these cash-strapped times, to benefit from the economies of scale, the force should be split, with the area north of the Tees amalgamating with Durham and that to the south going in with North Yorkshire. I sincerely hope Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, will be able to take his mind off Brexit, and his leadership ambitions, long enough to deal promptly with this extremely serious matter.

Steve Kay, Redcar & Cleveland councillor