People living in Hertfordshire are 'safe, satisfied, and saving money' - at least that is the view of the county's police chief.

David Lloyd, police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Hertfordshire, made the statement as he presented his annual report for 2018-19 to councillors the Hertfordshire police and crime panel.

It comes as a crime survey for England and Wales, conducted in April 2019, showed that 83.9 of residents in the county think their police force are doing a 'good or excellent job' - this was the highest score of all the 43 forces in the two countries.

At the meeting in Cheshunt, Mr Lloyd was quizzed on a range of issues including knife crime, fly tipping, police officer numbers, stop-and-search bills, and council tax bills.

Taxpayers now pay £24 extra a year towards the PCC which has helped fund 75 new police officers bringing the current total of officers in Hertfordshire up to 2,034.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr Lloyd said: “I am very much aware that last year at this meeting it was said that I always talk about the positives and less so about the negatives. So I have tried to ensure that the picture I am giving you this year is warts and all of where we are.

"But with regard to police and crime we are still in a good place. We are still a really safe county, it’s remarkable how low the crime rate is given our geographical location.

"The five key achievements have been putting victims first, keeping crime low, protecting local policing, keeping tax low and increasing officer numbers.

"If I had to summarise the public in Hertfordshire are safe, satisfied and saving money."

For example, collaboration works and shared specialist units with Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire has enabled on going gross savings of £37.3 million since 2012/2013.

And while the average Band D householder saw their council tax bill go up, the policing precept of £188 in Hertfordshire is the fourth lowest in the UK.

The report given to the panel showed Hertfordshire has the third lowest level of crime within its most similar type of counties and is rated 15th nationally when comparing levels of crime per 1000 head of population.

The report which will be available on the Commissioner’s website at http://hertscommissioner.org/ by the end of the month.