A police inspector who banned his officers from hanging around their station during shifts was hailed as a ‘bit of a hero' who proved it was possible ‘to do more with less' in the face of budget cuts.

Inspector Frank Donnelly operates an ‘exclusion zone' at the police stations he runs in Bedfordshire, meaning officers are forced to go out on the beat during the dark winter evenings.

The tough approach has led to a 67 percent percent reduction in crime between June and December 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.

(READ the story in the Daily Mail)