Mrs Weston, who has been a magistrate member of the Authority since 1999, and Vice Chairman for the last two years, was elected as the new Chairman at a recent meeting of the Authority.

She replaces Sally Hannon who has served as Chairman since 2004.

Mrs Weston has been a magistrate for 26 years, her interest stemming from a career in the court service prior to her starting a family.

She initially joined the Forest Bench where she became the Chairman of the Licensing committee and subsequently the Bench Chairman prior to the amalgamation with other benches to become the East Berkshire Bench.

She was also a Vice Chairman of the new Bench before taking up her role on the Police Authority in 1999.

Mrs Weston, who has a keen interest in the work of the criminal justice system, has represented the Police Authority for the past two years on the local Criminal Justice Board.

Mrs Weston said she was very mindful of the “excellent achievements” of the previous Chairman Mrs Hannon, and that she was delighted to have worked alongside her as Vice Chairman for the past two years.

She added: “The year ahead is one of the most challenging the Authority has had to face and I’m sure there will be some very difficult decisions to make.”

The new Vice Chairman of the Authority is Wendy Coates, who has been an independent member of the Authority for seven years.