A police chief has defended Kent's officers - after it was revealed more than 500 assault claims were lodged against them in four years.

A statement released today said 557 assault allegations were made against officers by members of the public between 2011 and November 2015 last year.

Of those, just 16 complaints were upheld - and none of those resulted in dismissal, a BBC investigation revealed.

But Chief Superintendent Neil Jerome said the overwhelming majority of Kent police officers carried out their duties professionally.

He added: "The small minority of those officers who have fallen below the high level of service expected of them will be fully investigated by the Professional Standards Department.

"All of the allegations received were investigated, however a small number were upheld and a disciplinary procedure followed when appropriate.

"The majority of the 557 allegations related to an arm being grabbed or handcuffs being too tight.

"It is important to remember that should an allegation of a criminal nature be received, then the Crown Prosecution Service will be consulted to establish if any charges are appropriate."

He said police officers had a legal right to use force in the line of duty.

He added: "Often police are faced with violent, dangerous situations to which they must restore order quickly to prevent harm from coming to the public.

"Officers may use reasonable force when dealing with these situations and in the vast majority of instances restore calm to volatile situations without incident."

In 2014/15 the force's control room took more than 825,000 calls for help.

The news comes as Kent Police was the only force out of 43 assessed by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to be rated as outstanding.

Chief Supt Jerome added: "The Force takes all complaints seriously and encourages people to contact us if they are concerned with the service they have received."

There has been a reduction in complaints recorded against officers, with more than four out of every five people surveyed recently saying they were completely, very or fairly satisfied with policing in their local area.