The most senior police officer in North Yorkshire needs to be driven safely and swiftly thousands of miles around the county each year. So naturally he places his trust in a woman - his chauffeur Linda Mableson. Here Linda, right, reflects on her high-profile job to Rebecca Gilbert.

Women drivers - love them or loathe them?

Well, the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire, David Kenworthy, is more than happy to be driven by a woman - everywhere he goes.

Linda Mableson, the only woman in the country employed to chauffeur a Chief Constable, is out to disprove the myths about how the fair sex behaves behind the wheel.

In addition to a spotless ten-year career driving some of the police force's most important officials around the country, Linda, 36, has clocked up around 300,000 miles and is the holder of an advanced driver qualification.

She describes herself as a patient driver and even the "see a space and fill it" mentality of London drivers fails to ruffle her feathers.

Her enjoyment of her unusual and often antisocial job is fuelled by a life-long love of driving which began as a youngster driving tractors on her father's farm.

Nowadays Linda and the chief constable travel in the force's 225bhp Volvo 850T5 with the registration plate AJ1 given in 1907 (the prefix of the old North Riding and the number one for the county's most important car).

Linda was interviewed for the job in 1990 by the then Assistant Chief Constable Barry Shaw, now chief of Cleveland Police.

At that time she was a chef training to be a driving instructor in her spare time, but getting the job was only the first part of a struggle against male attitudes.

She said: "I never thought I'd get the job and when Mr Shaw asked me the dreaded question why I thought I should have the job, I said knowing what men say about women drivers I'd be very surprised if I got it.

"Later I found out that he'd wanted a lady driver if there was an appropriate applicant." But other members of the force didn't feel the same.

"Early on I had to drive to York police station and I was standing in the foyer when I overheard an officer ask who I was and then say, 'a woman driving a chief officer - what's the force coming to?"

Things are much better now, but Linda would still like to see other women in jobs like hers.

The luxury car is equipped with a telephone and other comforts to allow the Chief Constable to work on the move.

When he's not busy, however, he and Linda, who calls him 'sir', either chat or listen to music.

Linda said: "Rank has its privileges and we usually listen to Radio 4 or classical music."

But despite the weekends, evenings and occasional 18-hour shifts, Linda, who is married but has no children, said: "I'm not an office person. I'd hate a nine to five, Monday to Friday job, which this certainly isn't.

"No two days are the same and that's what I love about it."

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