The Liberal Democrats have selected a new candidate who hopes to become Hertfordshire’s first police and crime commissioner after their initial challenger withdrew.

Christopher Townsend, who stood as a parliamentary candidate in south west Hertfordshire in 2010, has been chosen to challenge for the £75,000-a-year political job overseeing the county’s police.

News of the selection comes nearly a month after it emerged that Liberal Democrat’s original candidate, Ron Tindall, had withdrawn from the race.

Mr Townsend, a councillor on Dacorum Borough Council who lives in Tring, will now face off against Conservative David Lloyd and Labour’s Sherma Batson in the November 15 election.

He moved to to Tring from London in 2003 and has worked as a senior risk manager for a bank in the City of London.