The woman who steered Sussex Police through its worst crisis is leaving the force.

Deputy chief constable Maria Wallis has been appointed chief constable of Devon and Cornwall.

Mrs Wallis, 46, received the Queen's Police Medal last year and many believe it was for her role in the wake of the fatal shooting by police of an unarmed man in Hastings.

The then chief constable, Paul Whitehouse, was forced to resign and his deputy, Mark Jordan, retired early following the shooting.

Mrs Wallis, an assistant chief constable at the time, took over as acting chief constable until the arrival of new chief Ken Jones late last year.

Mrs Wallis, who takes over at Exeter police headquarters from Sir John Evans, was a candidate for the job of chief constable of Northern Ireland. The Devon and Cornwall job became vacant first.

Women in charge of police forces is no longer unusual. Women are at the helm in Lancashire and Dorset, and former Sussex assistant chief constable Elizabeth Neville is currently chief constable in Wiltshire.

Mrs Wallis began her career with the Metropolitan Police in 1976 and joined Sussex as ACC in November, 1994.

She was appointed deputy in January, 2000, and has been responsible for the Organisational Services and Professional Standards department.

As a member of the chief officers' team, she shared corporate responsibility for command and leadership for the 4,500 staff and a revenue budget of £183 million.

She is a spokeswoman on domestic violence, sexual offences against adults, and harassment, for the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Pet-lover Mrs Wallis said she was looking forward to moving to Exeter.

The position of deputy chief for Sussex is to be advertised.