A SENIOR police officer yesterday opened a housing development built on the site of an former police station in east Cleveland.

Acting Assistant Chief Constable Dave Lumb, of Cleveland Police, unlocked a pair of handcuffs suspended from police incident tape in front of the homes to mark the opening.

Endeavour Housing Association has converted the former police station in Loftus into five family homes, called The Yard, in partnership with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

Charlie Hughes, chief executive of Endeavour, which has more than 1,400 tenants across Teesside, North Yorkshire and County Durham, said: "The development made use of the former police station in Loftus, which had become too large for its current use.

"We converted the building into five family homes and a smaller police station, so under the circumstances, getting a senior police officer to open it seemed appropriate."