Two-in-five of the 332 people who have applied to be a police officer during a recent recruitment campaign by Lincolnshire police want to be detectives.

From the 12 October to 6 December the force ran a recruitment campaign in line with the national police officer uplift programme. The government has vowed to recruit 20,000 extra police officers across the country over the next three years, which for Lincolnshire police equates to 166 officers.

During the latest campaign 332 applications were received, with 138 (41%) registering their interest in the force's new Detective Fast Track scheme, an initiative that will see recruits wanting to work in CID, PVP (Protecting Vulnerable People) and other investigative roles being fast tracked into the role of detective constable during their initial training.

DI Lee St Quinton who heads the Detective Fast Track Scheme said: "Considering that this is a new scheme for Lincolnshire police, this is a fantastic response.

"Despite our geographical size, we are a small force so it is essential that our officers have the skills to put the uniform on at a moment's notice and those on the DC Fast Track scheme will follow the same initial training as any other officer, only after 10 weeks of independent patrol they will move into an investigation team and begin to focus more on the role of a detective and the skills that role requires."

As well as the DC Fast Track Scheme, during the force's latest recruitment campaign Lincolnshire police focused on recruiting more people from the east of the county, more people with second language skills and increasing the diversity of the organisation.

For those who expressed an interest in the DC Fast Track scheme, a series of assessments will take place over the coming weeks and months as the recruits begin their journey with the force.