ARMED police were called to more than one incident every day in Essex during the past year.

Between April 2017 and March 2018 the force sent armed police to 487 incidents, up from 392 the previous year.

At the same time the number of armed officers dropped from 175 to 164.

In 2008 the force had 225 armed officers covering the county.

The police federation of England and Wales claim forces have seen an “explosion” in violent crime over the past year, which has led to armed police being routinely called to violent incidents, with officers tending to “assume the worst”.

A spokeswoman for the federation added many forces have been left struggling to recruit enough armed police in recent years, with some finding their existing officers being lured away by the promise of higher salaries in forces such as the Metropolitan Police, which has been on a recruitment drive.

The Home Office figures show more than a third of police forces in England and Wales saw a reduction in the number of armed officers in their ranks over the past year.

Almost all of these forces recorded a rise in armed police operations over the same period.

Ché Donald, firearms lead for the federation, said: “There has been an explosion in violent crime over the past year, with knife crime up by 16 per cent and murders by 12 per cent.

“In this current climate, if officers are called to a violent incident the preferred option is to deploy properly-trained firearms officers to contain the situation.

“All this is set against a backdrop of increased awareness because of recent terrorist events, such as the London Bridge attack and Manchester Arena. As a result, there has also been a heightened presence of firearms officers at events and public gatherings around the country to ensure people are kept safe.

“Police discharges of firearms remain consistently low, which reflects the high standard of training our officers receive.” A spokesman for Essex Police said: “The people in our full time firearms officer posts are rigorously trained and equipped for the difficult and traumatic incidents to which they’ll be sent. Decisions on the number retained in those teams are taken based on the national threat level and local need. In 2014 the number of posts was reduced from 109 to 85 posts to increase capacity for local policing. In recent years the number of officers has risen.”