A remote island of just 4,500 people wants to beef up its police force by hiring a £38,000-a-year detective who specialises in historic sex abuse cases - although officials say there aren't actually any cases to investigate.

Most famous for being the place of Napoleon Bonaparte's exile and death, St Helena is a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean and is one of the world's remotest islands.

In 2014, there were claims of a child abuse cover-up in the island, after allegations that a police officer raped a four-year-old girl while another mutilated a two-year-old.

St Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, wants to hire a detective that specialises in historic sexual abuse cases

St Helena has a police force of just 27 that serves a population of 4,534 on the 10 by five mile island.

Island officials insist that there aren't any historic sex abuse cases for a new detective to look into - but they want to replace their outgoing specialist detective.

The advert says that the new role will pay a detective constable £38,000 per year and they will also enjoy a tax-free international supplement.

The role description says that the new detective will look into both current and historic sexual abuse cases against children and vulnerable adults.

They will also be expected to support the victims of abuse throughout an investigation.

The 2014 scandal led to social workers on St Helena alleging that the British Foreign Office were involved in covering up the historic abuse.

Although there are no current cases to investigate, in 2014, there were claims of a child abuse cover-up in the island, after allegations that a police officer raped a four-year-old girl

This prompted an inquiry by the UK government a year later, which found that the claims had been exaggerated and there was no evidence of corruption.

A spokeswoman for the St Helena Police Directorate said the island was advertising for the post to fill an existing vacancy and told the Express: 'The current postholder will be leaving us in 2019 and this advert is to provide continuity of available expertise on-island.

'There is no historical abuse enquiry ongoing, or anticipated.'