SISTERS Manpreet and Mandeep Jassal have become the first Asian twins to join Strathclyde Police.

SISTERS Manpreet and Mandeep Jassal have become the first Asian twins to join Strathclyde Police.

The 23-year-olds from Newton Mearns, part of a record intake of 154 recruits, applied to join the force at the same time.

Manpreet said: "This is something we wanted to do together and we're ecstatic to be given the opportunity.

"I worked as a support worker for adults with learning difficulties but wanted a bigger challenge."

The sisters were among 56 women and 98 men who took their oath at the force's training complex on Wednesday.

The rookie cops will now undergo a 15-week training course at the Scottish Police College in Tulliallan, Fife before starting a two-year probationary period.

Police chiefs, meanwhile, say they plan to "poach" ethnic minority officers from England to boost rep-resentation on the force.

Semper Scotland, which represents black and ethnic minority police employees, is leading the selective recruitment bid.

Scottish police forces reported the overall num-ber of officers had risen by at least 248 since the SNP came into power in 2007. But the figure for five Scots police forces is still short of the extra 1000 pledged by the Scottish Government.