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
BLIND MAN BEATEN WITH BRICK FOR SAYING HELLO

A BLIND man was battered with a brick in a sickening attack by two thugs .

RESCUE TURTLES OPEN WIDE FOR DINNER

A pair of BEAUTIFUL rescue sea turtles spot their catch in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef .

HEROIC BURNS SURVIVOR BECOMES FIREFIGHTER

An American man who suffered horrific third-degree burns to 70 percent of his body in a childhood accident has faced his fears by becoming a firefighter .

CHERYL LOOKALIKE SLAMS SKINNY-SHAMING PUBLIC

A Cheryl Fernandez-Versini lookalike has slammed skinny-shamers, after seeing her celebrity doppelganger abused for her tiny frame .

GIRL BEATS ANOREXIA AFTER MUM PLANS FUNERAL

A teenager has beaten anorexia after becoming so ill that her mum planned her funeral .

IT'S A WATERING CAN-VAS

AS graffiti goes, this giant mural of a sweet little girl tenderly watering a tree beneath her is a far cry from what you usually see emblazoned across cities .

WOMAN’S DAUGHTER KILLED HERSELF AFTER SUFFERING HORRIFIC ABUSE AT THE HANDS OF HER MONSTER EX

A mother-of-four has revealed how her daughter tragically took her own life after being subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of her ex-partner .

AIR-MAZING MCDONALD’S – AEROPLANE TRANSFORMED INTO FAST FOOD RESTAURANT

Diners on this aeroplane are never disappointed with their meal, because the decommissioned aircraft is now home to an air-mazing McDonald’s restaurant .

THUG FISH LOOK LIKE THEY MIGHT BATTER PHOTOGRAPHER

STARING open-mouthed into the camera, this shocked fish looks out of place in the middle of its angry friends .

IRELAND'S HIDDEN BEAUTY

THE TOWERING Irish cliffs of Moher stand tall over the rippling Atlantic Ocean .

MUM SPENDS £17K ON HER REBORN BABIES

When mum-of-three Becky Tully was told she couldn’t have any more children due to health reasons, she refused to give up on having the little girl she had always wanted .

FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .