BOBBIES on the beat will return to the streets of Essex, according to the county's new police and crime commissioner.

Conservative Roger Hirst has promised to stay true to his manifesto pledge and get officers out of offices and back into communities.

It is part of his drive to stop crimes happening rather than just investigating the ones that have happened.

He also wants to take over the fire service and introduce better technology to free up officer time.

Speaking after he was elected to the post, by about ten per cent of those who could have voted, Mr Hirst said: "I feel elated.

"There is a big job ahead."

Mr Hirst has a background in banking and believes he can find ways to save money and time which will make up for some of the chronic historic underfunding of Essex Police.

Speaking about his aims for the first hundred days he believes "the key priority is to get my manifesto message to the police".

This includes reversing some of the things the current PCC, until Thursday, Nick Alston brought in and progressing others.

Mr Hirst praised the work he did around victims of crime and domestic violence but claimed removing police off the streets and reducing the focus on anti-social behaviour were mistakes which are partly responsible for some of the problems the county is currently experiencing, especially around teenage drug gangs coming from outside of the county.

Mr Hirst said: "The big point is more local, more accessible, more visible, more police on patrol."

He believes the way to achieve this is by using money from the sale of police buildings to invest in technology so officers can do the paperwork and "back office" stuff quicker and while out patrolling.

He also believes this can be achieved by more "partnership working" especially "if you could find new capacity working more closely with the fire service".

And his plan is for this to happen soon.

He said: "We will be pushing to get a plan together to bring police and fire together under a single governance structure."

It could mean Mr Hirst becoming the first Police, Crime and Fire Commissioner and abolishing the highly criticised Essex Fire Authority.

Mr Hirst said: "I have had good discussions with the fire service and fire authority."

He is hoping this will happen during the next year freeing up resources.

However the fire service will be making a major cull of firefighters and fire engines in June under its own plans.

Mr Hirst, 55, who hails from Brentwood, promised to not be governed by statistics and claims his expertise in the private industry will mean he can make the money given to Essex Police go further.

He begins the challenge on Thursday.