A GROUP of police recruits whose passing out parade had to be postponed after they were called to assist the major inquiries in December have officially graduated.

A GROUP of police recruits whose passing out parade had to be postponed after they were called to assist the major inquiries in December have officially graduated.

Fourteen probationary Suffolk police officers took part in a special community ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the end of their initial training.

The event marked the completion of the first training regime undertaken exclusively in Suffolk.

Police recruits were formerly sent to Ashford in Kent for a 12-week residential course but last year the system was brought in-house to give trainees a better understanding of the county in which they will serve.

The original ceremony was due to take place in December when the recruits actually finished their training but had to be delayed because they were called to help a series of major investigations, including the killings of five sex workers in Suffolk and a fatal shooting.

Inspector Derek Wilding, in charge of Suffolk police's Initial Police Learning and Development Program, said: “It should have taken place just before Christmas but due to the impact of the killings and the Zest investigation, we had to postpone this until now.

“This group were drafted off to go and assist with a variety of things before Christmas.

“They were working alongside experienced officers. We were pleased with the way they dealt with it.”