A POLICEMAN who began his career in Bolton has been hailed a big hit down under for cleaning up Australia's "most corrupt" police force.

Peter Ryan has smashed a web of corruption in the New South Wales constabulary after just a year heading the force.

Mr Ryan, aged 53, worked as a constable on the beat in Bolton and Little Hulton between 1963 and 1967.

He rose through the ranks of the English police to become chief constable of Norfolk and head of Britain's police training centre before being enticed to Australia.

The New South Wales force had a horrendous reputation for bribe-taking, stealing and extortion. A Royal Commission even found evidence of police-run paedophile rings.

When he arrived in Sydney, he purged the force's top ranks and abolished the special branch. In a recent public opinion poll, almost 60pc said he had increased their confidence in the police.

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