KENT Police's new chief constable says he wants to be judged on merit and not his colour when he takes over the top job next year.

Michael Fuller, 44, will be the first black officer to head a UK force when he takes over the £120,000 a year role on January 2.

Much of the focus of his first press conference at Kent Police Headquarters in Sutton Road, Maidstone, today was the significance of his appointment.

But Mr Fuller, who has risen through the ranks to hold a senior post with the Metropolitan Police, said he hoped attention would shift to his achievements in the post.

He said: "Kent is a very successful police force already and I am delighted to have got the job on merit. I have often be seen as a role model by others but I haven't been able to simply sail through the ranks.

"I have earned my promotions through hard work and delivering on whatever job I have been given to do. That will be my focus here.

"I have to be judged on what I deliver in terms of policing Kent and making it a safer place to live and work. That means a lot more to me."

Mr Fuller has vowed to make quality of life issues such as vandalism, rowdiness and graffiti his top priority, although he denied this would mean a zero tolerance approach.

He said: "I have to be realistic with the resources that I have. My focus will be on quality of life issues but not from a zero tolerance platform.

"I am very keen to create greater resources that will bring greater visibility and contact with the communities that we serve."

The intelligence-led model pioneered by Kent Police under former chief Sir David Phillips remained sound but had come at a price.

He said: "Where there has been a sacrifice is in terms of the contact police have had with the community.

"The police need to have closer contact with the community and we need to look at ways of doing that through wardens and so on.

"I am looking at developing a number of initiatives and will be discussing these with colleagues and our partners in due course."