A major survey has been carried out to help police in England's biggest county increase their visibility to the public.

The results reinforced the need for high-visibility policing - with 60 per cent of respondents considering it more important that officers are regularly seen than it is for the force to react quickly to crime or other incidents.

A similar percentage of the public were also shown to believe that police visibility was the key to crime prevention and stopping criminals.

Now the results are to be used to build on the force's performance in that area - and the improvements, or otherwise, will be measured against further surveys.

Deputy Chief Constable Peter Walker said the research results would be used as a benchmark for their future performance.

"We deliberately had it carried out in the last week of the financial year, so we can measure our success as this year progresses," he said.

"It emphasises just how important it is for the public to have the reassurance of a visible police presence and this is a major priority for future policing in this county."

He added: "I want to see our officers working as an integral part of our communities, just as much as the communities themselves want to see our officers.

"We are taking a number of steps to raise the visibility of both our foot and mobile patrols and these surveys will let us know the impact this is having on public reassurance."

The survey showed 67 per cent of people had seen a police vehicle on patrol and 26 per cent had seen a police officer walking the beat within the last week.

The "Battenberg" checked livery on vehicles, introduced in February 2001, was identified as the most distinguishable feature of the force, followed by high visibility uniforms.

There was also a clear perception that crime had risen in the county in the last two to three year, with the apparent fear of crime being most significant amongst the elderly.

The survey was carried out by ICM Research which interviewed a sample of 1,000 adults from across the county. .