A black police inspector who was racially abused by officers as a young man hopes to help cement relations with Crawley's ethnic community.

Chief Inspector Kul Verma is leaving his present job in Brighton and Hove to take up a new post in Crawley.

He made up his mind to join the police after two officers hurled a racial insult at him in his home town of Nottingham more than 20 years ago.

Not surprisingly, the shock of that incident stayed with him but he used it as a driving force to join the police and make changes from the inside.

Chief Insp Verma, 42, said: "After the incident I wanted a police service which was balanced for all the community and not there to pass judgement on any one section."

He went on to become a founding member of the National Black Police Association and is currently chairman of the Sussex Black Police Association.

Although in an ideal world he would like there to be no need for such an association, at the moment it provides valuable support for black and Asian officers.

He said: "I didn't want to push people but I was passionate about needing something to offer black and ethnic minority staff.

"There is a need. We have been heavily involved with training, policy direction, recruitment and we are constantly getting calls, not only from members within Sussex but from police outside our area.

"We are going from strength to strength. We are not there to be divisive.

"Most of the force has changed post-Stephen Lawrence but there is still a minority of people who want to be racist."

Chief Insp Verma moves to Crawley at the beginning of September, where he will take over as district commander for the borough as part of a force-wide reorganisation.

He hopes his own ethnic background will not only help him empathise with the local community but actively encourage more black and Asian people to join the force.

He said: "What I will be able to do as a black senior police officer is provide some sort of reassurance to the community and also, on a recruitment level, provide some sort of role model.

"The police have to be reflective of the community they serve."