A NEW police training academy is being set up in Rossendale which bosses say will revolutionise the way officers are trained.

The new Professional Development Unit will help boost the number of bobbies on patrol in East Lancashire by sending new recruits out on to the streets to train for the first time.

Project manager Simon Twist said: "This project is helping to revolutionise the way the police operate.

"It will help new recruits come out of their cocoon and hit the ground running straight away - helping them to get real experience."

The new school, based at Rawtenstall Police Station, will allow 16 East Lancashire recruits to go on placements within the community and shadow local officers.

It is one of four training units being set up by Lancashire Constabulary following a national shake-up of police training by the Home Office.

The Rossendale location was chosen because it is accessible from both Eastern and Pennine areas.

Mr Twist added: "With one PDU already successfully established at Morecambe and now a second one in Rossendale, the Constabulary is one of the leading forces in the country driving police training modernisation as part of police reform.

"These local training units are fantastic news for both our local communities and our new recruits.

"Local residents and businesses benefit from an increased police presence and the recruits benefit from learning on the job, in and around the towns and villages that they will eventually patrol.

"If the pilot site at Morecambe is anything to go by, then the new training centre at Rossendale should have a very positive impact both on our student officers and on the people of Rossendale."

Students begin training in Rossendale on Monday, March 14, completing a 41-week training programme consisting of both theoretical and practical training.

The other two schools are set to be sited in Western Division's Blackpool area and Southern Division's Chorley area.