Six new firearms officers have been licensed to go out on patrol after going through a gruelling selection and training process

The already experienced officers have just completed a demanding 13-week training programme and were formally licensed at a ceremony on Tuesday evening.

Armed police officers are on patrol 24 hours a day across the county and are able to respond quickly to the most serious incidents.

New applicants must have already demonstrated several key skills and are put forward for training only after completing an initial selection process.

That training includes weapons handling, enhanced first aid, building searches, vehicle stops and containment exercises – concluding with a gruelling two day exercise to test everything officers have learned in a high-pressure and rapidly evolving scenario.

Superintendent Louise Clarke, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Being an armed police officer comes with a huge level of responsibility and – as the public will rightly expect – we demand the very highest standards of our officers.

“Over the last 13 weeks we have put these recruits through an extremely rigorous training programme that has been designed to test them to their limits.

“It is the most demanding of any of our training courses and many of those selected to start it do not make it to the end.

“It is a testament to the skill and tenacity of these six new officers that they have now completed this course, and I would like to wish each of them the very best of luck in the future.”