A NEW operations manager has been appointed to take over the day-to-day running of the police in Blackburn and Darwen.

Chief Inspector Dave Mallaby, who has moved from the Southern Division, has been promoted to superintendent, following Superintendent Stuart Kirby's promotion to divisional commander for the Northern Division.

Mr Mallaby said: "I was born in Blackburn and have lived in East Lancashire all my life, so it is excellent to be returning to the division as operations manager.

"I am looking forward to being back in an area of Lancashire I know very well and believe that my local knowledge will be of great benefit to me in the job." Mr Mallaby joined Lancashire Constabulary as a traffic officer in Bamber Bridge in 1977. He was later promoted to sergeant and served in both Blackburn and Accrington.

In 1990, he transferred to Preston as a detective sergeant and was then promoted to patrol inspector at Blackburn, where he served from 1991 until 1993. Two years later, he moved to the motorway unit, where he was promoted to chief inspector in the organisational change unit.

In 1998, he headed the Victoria Project and went to Melbourne in Australia for three weeks to see how the Australian police had successfully reduced the number of road casualties.

A year later, Mr Mallaby moved to the Southern Division as detective chief inspector and led Operation Volcano, which targeted drug-related crime in the Skelmersdale area.

He is married with one daughter and, in his spare time, has run the London marathon six times.