Mr Brunstrom said all operational staff must take the test

Richard Brunstrom said it was "ridiculous" career-long testing had not been introduced earlier, given the "physical nature of our task".

All operational staff will now be required to take the exam, which is the same as that undertaken by recruits.

Officers will perform a timed shuttle run and an upper body strength test.

Writing in his online diary (blog), Mr Brunstrom said: "We have a (national) job related fitness test for all recruits, but hitherto we have not kept this up throughout our careers - which is ridiculous, especially given the physical nature of our task and the current obesity epidemic.

"All forces do already have an annual recertification process for personal safety training (PST) - including not just 'empty hand' skills, but also use of handcuffs, baton and incapacitant spray.

"We have simply added the entry-level fitness test as a pre-requisite to undertaking PST for all operational staff.

"The odd thing is that so far we're the only force to do so."

Describing himself as a "top cop," Mr Brunstrom, 53, has also had a video of himself performing the fitness test posted on the force's website.