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
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 .
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 .
ABANDONED CARE HOME LIES FORGOTTEN
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
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 .
SHIVERING SQUIRREL
THIS LITTLE squirrel tries to keep himself snug as snow starts to fall around him .
RELAXING SNOW MONKEY
WITHOUT A care in the world, this little snow monkey puts his feet up and settles in for a snooze .
ADORABLE NEWBORN SEALS PLAY IN SNOW
WITH THEIR adorable big round eyes and fluffy white fur, these baby seals are cute enough to melt any heart .
GOLDEN EAGLE FESTIVAL
RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .
CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
GIRL BEATS ANOREXIA AFTER MUM PLANS FUNERAL
A teenager has beaten anorexia after becoming so ill that her mum planned her funeral .
WOMAN LOSES 9ST AFTER JUNK FOOD ADDICTION LEFT HER £1.5K IN DEBT
An obese woman has lost 9st after an addiction to junk food left her £1 .
HUNGRY TURTLE ATTRACTS AN AUDIENCE
SURROUNDED by divers, a hungry green sea turtle enjoys being the centre of attention .