Armed police officers in Cumbria responded to a record-low number of incidents last year, new figures reveal.

It came amid a drop in operations across England and Wales, despite a temporary raising of the UK's terror threat level last autumn.

Home Office data shows Cumbria Constabulary deployed armed police to 38 incidents in the year to March.

That was down from 60 in 2019-20, and the lowest number since comparable records began in 2008-09.

Across England and Wales, the number of police firearms operations fell for the second consecutive year to 18,262, down six per cent from 19,393 in 2019-20.

The latest period saw officers fire their weapons on four occasions, compared to five the year before.

The overall drop in operations came during a year when the UK terrorism threat level was raised from "substantial" to "severe" in November, following a series of attacks in France and Austria.

However, in February this year, the level returned to 'substantial', meaning an attack was a strong possibility.

The Home Office said the reduction in firearms operations last year may reflect the impact of lockdown restrictions in place during the pandemic.

It said armed officers are only deployed to incidents where someone else is armed or is considered so dangerous that use of a gun may be necessary.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said the small proportion of incidents which led to an officer firing a gun was a mark of the quality of training and officers' professionalism

Chief constable Simon Chesterman, the NPCC's lead for armed policing, said: “The discharging of weapons is always a last resort and I’m proud to see that despite more than 18,000 firearms operations, there were only four occasions when our officers were required to do this."

"Forces are able to respond to major incidents such as terrorist attacks faster and with greater numbers," he added.

As of March 31, Cumbria Constabulary had 81 armed officers – one more than the year before, and up by six compared to 2016.

A Home Office spokesman said: "All forces in the UK have an armed police capability – it is for chief officers to determine the number of armed officers and taser trained officers in their areas based on a thorough assessment of threat and risk."