By RACHEL SPENCER

MORE police officers will patrol the streets of Warrington if a high-profile recruitment campaign launched by the Government proves to be a success.

Increased funding from the Home Office means that Cheshire police can recruit an extra 147 officers over the next three years.

The first national campaign aimed at raising the profile of policing as a career was launched on Wednesday last week.

Adverts will run on national TV, in newspapers, on the radio and at cinemas to urge high-quality recruits to join Cheshire police.

More bobbies on the beat is what the public has been crying out for and police in Warrington have welcomed the announcement.

PC Kerry Harding, based at Stockton Heath police station, has served as an officer for 18 years.

She has worked in the traffic division, domestic violence unit and on patrols, and hopes to join the national training team at Bruche later this year.

PC Harding thinks that each division will benefit from the extra recruits.

She said: "No matter what, the public always wants to see an officer in uniform on the street.

"For us to do our job well we need extra staff and resources so we can have people out there and deal with the calls that are coming through.

"They are out there dealing with the public each day they are quite often the first officer people see. The uniform officer is the most important one there is."

Ian Holding, Cheshire's Deputy Chief Constable, said: "We welcome this additional funding and as a result we will be looking to increase the number of people applying.

"The new officers will play an important role in helping the constabulary in its efforts to reduce crime."