Barbara Wilding will take over from Sir Anthony Burden in January

Barbara Wilding will take up the post in January, when Sir Anthony Burden retires.

She is currently a Deputy Assistant Commissioner with the Metropolitan Police Service.

Ms Wilding, who is married with two daughters, started her career with the States Police in Jersey before being transferred to the Metropolitan Police in 1971.

She was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the 2000 New Year Honours.

Irene Divine, the co-ordinator of the British Association for Women in Policing, said Ms Wilding was a good choice.

"She is a very competent police officer and a very nice person," she said.

"I think it is important to have the best person for the job, irrespective of whether male or female."

Experiences

Ms Divine said Ms Wilding had proved she had the problem-solving and managerial skills to succeed in the Chief Constable role.

"At a strategic level, it is about using experiences to police different problems.

"With all the experience she has, particularly in the operational field, she will bring a different perspective and hopefully different ways of looking at the same sorts of problems."

South Wales Police cover an area of around 812 square miles, including the cities of Swansea and Cardiff and the South Wales Valleys.

The area is home to about 1,225,900 people.