CHESHIRE'S Chief Constable has been awarded with the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM).

Simon Byrne was invited to Buckingham Palace to accept the honour from His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, on Thursday, June 9, having been named in The Queen’s New Year’s Honours’ List.

The QPM is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom (and Commonwealth of Nations), for distinguished service or gallantry.

“This was a fantastic day with my family, and humbling to receive,” he said.

“It was a chance to reflect on a long career in policing and the many thousands of colleagues that have supported me throughout my career and helped make this special recognition possible.

Mr Byrne’s long and distinguished career began in 1982 on the beat in the Paddington and the St John’s Wood area as a Metropolitan Police officer.

Three years later, he transferred to Merseyside Police where he worked in uniform, CID and at Headquarters.

In 2002 he took the lead role as the police commander for policing Knowsley, a particularly deprived area of Liverpool.

He transferred to Greater Manchester Police in 2009 as Deputy Chief Constable before returning to the Met in 2011.

There, Mr Byrne headed up the largest operational command in the country, running day-to-day policing in London and boosting neighbourhood policing teams across the capital.

In June 2014 Mr Byrne returned to his home county to be appointed Cheshire’s Chief Constable.

Over the last year he has increased the number of police officers in local policing and reshaped frontline policing.

This contributed towards being graded ‘outstanding’ by the police watchdog, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) last year.

Most recently, Mr Byrne has taken a national role leading the development and improvement of criminal justice, as the National Police Chief’s Council lead in this area.

He also has a national lead role for the National Police Air Service – which provides vital air support to protect the public for police forces across the country.

Mr Byrne said: “I am very proud to lead an innovative and progressive force like Cheshire Constabulary.”