The "use of force" by Hertfordshire Police has risen over 2017 and is higher than some neighbouring counties, statistics show.

The "Use of Force" statistics covers different methods of calming situations including unarmed defence tactics, handcuffing and Taser use.

From April to June 2017 Hertfordshire has had an average of 896 recordings a month, while Cambridgeshire has seen 419 and Bedfordshire 220.

But since the beginning of the year the "use of force" has steadily grown from 456 instances in January to 957 in June.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire David Lloyd said: “Our police officers are faced with challenging situations when they leave the police station and go out on duty.

"Most of these do not require the use of force, however occasionally this is necessary and I welcome the publication of this data.

“The Home Office figures have raised some important questions which I have discussed with the Chief Constable.”

Those most likely to need  to use force are frontline uniformed patrol and response officers and the statistics also showed there were 269 occasions between April and June when officers were injured.

The most commonly used forms of force were handcuffing and unarmed defensive tactics, white men aged 18 to 34 the most likely demographic to receive these actions.

Most incidents recorded were in large cities and towns such as Peterborough, Stevenage and Luton.

Deputy Chief Constable Mike Colbourne, health and safety lead for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, said: "Our officers are confronted with difficult situations every day.

"They walk towards danger when others walk away, thinking and acting quickly to keep people safe."

Deputh Chief Constable Colbourne added that releasing this data is another tool along with body worn video cameras to allow the public to scrutinise the police and build confidence and trust in their work.

He added: "Officers are trained to use force proportionately, lawfully and only when absolutely necessary.

"Using a small amount of force through handcuffing or a form of restraint can quickly calm a situation down or prevent the individual or others coming to harm."

Officers across the three counties have been formally recording these incidents since October which can mean that a single use of force may be recorded several times if more than one officer was on the scene at the time.

Statistics are expected to rise over the coming months as officers get used to the new process.