PETERBOROUGH restaurateur Farooq Mohammed, 46, is the latest independent candidate to step forward for the position of Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire.

Mr Mohammed, father of four and manager of the Maharanis family-run restaurant in Hampton, said he had no political affiliations and described himself as “more of a policy person than a party-political person”.

Mr Mohammed sees the new role as an opportunity for a new type of candidate, totally independent whose first duty is to the communities they serve rather than to any political or outside influences.

Top of his priorities are the victims of crime, the human stories behind the statistics.

He said: “This is one of the things I feel most strongly about. These people are sometimes forgotten and feel their interests come second to those of the criminal.

“My next door neighbour is a retired gentleman who lives with his sister, both in their early 70s, they had a break-in and it has a very large impact on the victim.”

“That was very close to me. Looking into their faces I could see it puts fear into their eyes and you want to do something to alleviate that.”

Mr Mohammed’s election platform is based on four key areas: transparency, independence, public engagement and social cohesion.

Elections for Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire take place here and across the country on November 15.