A new fire chief has been appointed for Northumberland, two months after the collapse of plans for a major service merger with Cumbria.

Alex Bennett has been confirmed as the chief fire officer for the Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service. He steps up to the top role after holding the post of acting chief fire officer since December 2010. The appointment comes two months after it was revealed that the proposed merger of the Northumberland and Cumbria fire services had been scrapped following 10 months of negotiations and studies.