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The £20,000 cost of a rebrand by Cleveland Police has been described as some of the "best money ever spent" by the force.

Several teams now work as one under the "Matrix" banner, with vehicle livery changed to bright yellow to provide a "visible deterrent".

Cleveland's Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner was quizzed over the cost of the changes this week.

He said: “We didn't spend anything outside of our existing fleet budget. The Matrix rebranding came from within that."

Cleveland's chief constable Mark Webster told a meeting of the PCC this week that the Matrix concept has "got brand recognition and actually it has really impacted with the public and people are really noticing it."

He added: “Twenty thousand pounds is 0.01% of the force’s budget and it has been probably among the best we have ever spent.”

The Matrix team has so far assisted with critical investigations, missing people searches and road traffic collisions.

Superintendent Rachel Stockdale said: “Within less than a month of the launch of the Matrix team we are already seeing great results and sending a message to criminals that we won’t tolerate their activity.”

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