ARMED officers in Dorset Police has increased by a fifth in almost one year amid an increasing threat of terrorist attacks.

Figures from Home Office show that the force had 70 armed officers as of the end of March, when the last national headcount was taken.

This was an increase from 59 the previous year, an increase of 20 per cent.

Police bodies say the increase is driven by the combined threat of terrorism and a rise in violent crime.

Ché Donald, vice-chairman and firearms lead for the Police Federation, said that although there was a "heightened presence" of firearms officers in Dorset, they rarely discharge their weapons.

He said: "Police discharges of firearms remain consistently low, which reflects the high standard of training our officers receive.

"They only discharge their firearms in circumstances where there is a high risk of injury to the public or the officers themselves."

While the numbers of armed officers have swollen in recent years, the number of armed police operations actually being undertaken has fallen.

In the twelve months to March 2018, 235 armed police operations were conducted by Dorset Police, down from 252 the previous year, and the lowest level since 2014-15.

Police forces across the country have also seen an "explosion" in violent crime over the past year, according to the Police Federation.

Across Dorset, violent crime increased by 16.1 per cent from 12,758 to 14,812.

In many areas this has led to armed police being routinely called to violent incidents, with officers tending to "assume the worst".

In Dorset, armed units are often called to incidents as first responders, acting in the capacity of ordinary police officers.

The county has contributed to an overall increase in the number of armed officers in England and Wales to 6,459 in 2018, despite the fact that more than a third of forces actually saw a reduction.

Across England and Wales, the number of armed police operations in the year to March reached 18,746 – the highest number since 2010-11.

A spokesman for the Home Office said it had long been the country's policy that "the police should not generally be armed".

The Government invested some £143 million in 2016 to improve recruitment of armed police in areas deemed to be most at risk of terrorist attacks.

He said: “It is for Chief Officers to determine the number of armed officers in their areas.

"The total number of armed officers has risen over the past year, which likely reflects our investment in the armed policing uplift programme.”