Nicky Massey has been selected by the Labour Party to be its candidate in the forthcoming Cambridgeshire and Peterborough police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections in May.

Mrs Massey was elected as a Cambridge city councillor for Abbey Ward in May 2018 and is a police and crime panel member which scrutinises the PCC's work.

At a meeting in Ely on Sunday (March 8), Mrs Massey pledged to "restore trust after the previous Conservative PCC was forced to resign due to an investigation into his possible criminal conduct".

She said: "I'll restore public confidence and will put the focus back on tackling crime."

In an online Labour Party blog, she describes how she was one of six children from a working-class background. She was born in Barking, east London, before moving to Lincolnshire to stay with her grandparents from five-years-old before returning to the capital eight years later.

She says that since losing her son in 2013 while also living on benefits, she has led different campaigns both nationally and locally.

Mrs Massey says these have included changing Great Ormond Street policy to ensure the "right medical care" following the premature birth of one of her sons, installing a crossing on Cambridge's Station Road after nearly being hit by a bus while out with her children and campaigning for funding for The Fields Children's Centre.

Mrs Massey said: "For most my adult life I went to work, paid the bills and didn't really think much about politics. I just didn't think I could make an impact.

"I finally realised I had a voice, that I could make a difference and decided to enter local politics to start changing things for even more people.

"I love being able to use my own life experience to influence discussions around big issues."

She has also pledged to tackle what she calls the "knife crime emergency".

Mrs Massey added: "Violent crime is rising across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough due to a decade of Tory and Lib Dem cuts. Last year, knife crime rose by 13 per cent.

"Our bobbies on the beat are doing their best, but we need police numbers back up to full strength and for policing to be responsive to the needs of local communities."