TWO Assistant Chief Constables have been appointed for Lancashire police.

Andy Rhodes, who was Blackburn’s top policeman, has now been formally appointed to the role of ACC, which he had been carrying out on a temporary basis.

This post has been vacant since the previous ACC, Chris Weigh, was appointed Deputy Chief Constable in November 2009.

The second appointee, Pete White, will not take up his new role until 1 September 2011, when ACC Wendy Walker retires.

Chair of the Police Authority, Malcolm Doherty, said: “These appointments follow a testing interview process with a very high calibre of candidates.

"However, I am confident that we have identified the right people, equipped with the right experience and the right skills, for both posts. “It is vital that we have a strong leadership team to take the Constabulary through the tough challenges ahead while maintaining its position as a top performing police force, and I’m sure that these two people will both make a valuable contribution to the Chief Officer team.”

Mr Rhodes said: “I feel enormously privileged to have been appointed and to be able to influence the way the county is policed over the coming years.”