Meet the human CCTV: a PCSO with a memory for faces so sharp he has apprehended more than 130 suspects in the last year alone with his eagle eyed talents. Community officer Andy Pope has been dubbed West Midlands Police's 'Memory Man' for his astonishing ability to spot criminals simply by memorising their faces. He spends hours every week poring over stills taken from CCTV and images from police briefing systems before hitting the streets of Birmingham to seek out troublemakers. So far, Andy's unique crime-tackling technique has led to the arrest and conviction of thieves, sex offenders and people wanted for violent crimes. In one remarkable case he even recognised a serial robber who walked past him in the city centre a whole year after his image had appeared on BBC's Crimewatch programme. The 34-year-old, who works with the Safer Travel team policing public transport routes, is now to be honoured with an award for police staff member of the year. Andy said: "With Safer Travel I spend a lot of time in Birmingham and on arterial routes into the centre. A lot of offenders do pass through city at some point and, when they do, I want to be able to recognise them.
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .
Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .
BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .
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A photographer has travelled the length of the UK capturing lighthouses and their picturesque surroundings .
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LEAPING for joy five-feet above the waves this baby whale cutie is saying HELLO to its family after being lost .
A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .
COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .
HUNDREDS of hot air balloons decorate the sky above Turkey as the rising sun illuminates the spectacular scenery below .
