THE head of Cleveland Police has been to Buckingham Palace to pick up his Queen's Police Medal.

Turning around the financial fortunes of one of the country's most controversial police forces earned chief constable Sean Price his distinguished honour.

He was awarded the medal for 'distinguished service' having spent a working life as a police officer.

Born in Liverpool, he joined his native Merseyside force in 1979 direct from Queen Mary College University, London.

In 1998, Mr Price was appointed assistant chief constable of Nottinghamshire, and in March 2003 took over as chief constable of Cleveland Police.

In the past year, his Putting People First strategy has resulted in large falls in crime and improved service to the public as well as significant efficiency savings.

But his most onerous task was repairing a £7.3m financial black hole and restore public confidence and staff morale in a force rocked by a series of scandals and investigations.

Mr Price said: "It was a great honour to receive this award from Her Majesty. I regard it as not only recognition of my own career, but recognition of the success Cleveland Police has achieved in the recent past.

"This award is therefore a tribute to the tremendous efforts made by the police officers and staff of Cleveland Police."