Essex residents will have to shell out an extra £6.18 a year for the police portion of their council tax.

The police authority approved a 5.9 per cent rise in the rate at yesterday's meeting.

Chairman Robert Chambers promised cash from the rise will be ploughed into frontline policing.

He said: "This is for what the public is asking us to try and do. It is for frontline visible policing.

"I'm sure most people you talk to on the street want more officers walking around, more criminals caught and to feel safer in their homes. Essex is one of the safest places to live in the country.

"I believe the budget that we are proposing today plays some part in that."

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Published Tuesday, February 7, 2006

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