GWENT'S chief constable has been slammed by public sector trade union Unison for accepting a £6,500 bonus while many of its members are fearful of redundancy.

Carmel Napier was awarded, and accepted, the bonus - five per cent of her £133,068 salary - for hitting performance targets in 2011/12.

But there was fury among many Unison members from Gwent Police at a meeting in Cwmbran last night that Ms Napier has accepted her bonus.

The Argus revealed earlier this week that Ms Napier is the only chief constable in Wales to have taken a bonus for 2011/12 Unison regional organiser Andrew Woodman said they were very disappointed to hear that the chief constable had accepted the bonus, particularly when no other chief constable in Wales took a bonus and her own deputy refused his.

He said:"It's good to see that we are all in this together."

Chief officers were eligible for annual bonus payments through a national performance and development review scheme.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said earlier this week that Home Office crime figures indicate Gwent is one of the best performing forces in the country, and "much of this success is due to sound leadership and management."

Deputy chief constable Jeff Farrar was also eligible for a bonus, but turned it down.