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He added: "I believe the school tried to use the police to close down legitimate inquiries, and for some reason the constabulary played along."

"Molly Bury's behaviour fell way below what the constabulary expects and what the public would expect of a serving police officer."

Det Supt Haskins said while the teenagers - who were unknown to them - tried to evade the police, they used "all the powers and the force of the constabulary" to catch them.

Andy Cooke, chief inspector of constabulary, said the current police funding formula was "an anachronism".

Mr Hansen joined the constabulary as deputy chief constable in May 2013 and took the top job in May 2017, becoming the 16th person to head up the force in its history.