HUMAN CCTV COP BUSTS 130 CRIMINALS
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.
Other great stories
ABANDONED HOBBIT HOUSE
IN THE not so MISTY MOUNTAINS of Wiltshire, there lies an abandoned hobbit house .
MY SLEEPING BEAUTY NIGHTMARE
MEET the real life sleeping beauty - who snoozed for TWO months when a rare sleep disorder took over her life and turned it into a nightmare .
WOMAN LOSES 11ST AFTER £11K GASTRIC SLEEVE OP
A woman has shed half her body weight after undergoing a gastric sleeve op to shrink her stomach .
ADORABLE SHELTER DOGS STRIKE A ‘PAWS’ TO FIND FOREVER HOMES
A group of shelter dogs showcase their loveable personalities in a series of passport-style photographs - in the hope of finding their forever homes .
HAPPILY UN-COUPLED - JILTED WOMAN THROWS DIVORCE PARTY
A woman has celebrated the end of her marriage to her unfaithful husband by throwing herself a DIVORCE PARTY .
SHARK WHISPERER BALANCES SHARK IN HIS HAND
Pic By Graham Gibson/ HotSpot Media - SHARK HYPNOTIST BALANCES SHARK IN PALM OF HIS HAND- In Pic - Diver Tom and Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas- A SHARK hypnotist balances these predators in the palm of his hand by sending them to sleep with a gentle nose rub .
SUMMER ARRIVES AT LAST
Britons have finally received some good news about the weather with temperatures expected to reach 30 degrees this weekend .
FIGHTING FOX IS BEATEN BY EAGLES
A fox takes a tumble and lands on his head when he tries to fend off a pair of eagles in Japan .
RARE BRONTE POEM FETCHES £92K AT AUCTION
A rare manuscript of one of Charlotte Bronte’s earliest poems went under the hammer today and fetched nearly £100,000 – double what it was expected to get .
A LOT OF BOTTLE: ARTIST PAINTS PICTURE USING JUST COKE
This artist had a lot of bottle to re-create a masterpiece painted with nothing but 24 litres of cola .
REAL LIFE ANIME GIRL
Meet the real life anime girl who looks like a living cartoon character despite never going under the knife .