Officers praised after off-duty arrest of man as pair donned onesies

West Midland Police Pcs Tracy Griffin and Terri Cave were on their way to a fancy dress party when they came across a man yelling threatening abuse in a supermarket last March.

The pair wrestled the man to the ground when he left the Co-op store and told one of the staff to ring 999.

The man was arrested and taken into police custody on suspicion of public order offences.

The Pcs, who are based in Solihull, spent the rest of their evening filing reports at the police station rather than heading to the party.

On hearing the news of the arrest, colleagues tweeted from @SolihullPolice: "Man threatening to kill people didn't expect to be wrestled to the ground by our off-duty officer in a zebra onesie. We go that extra mile."

Brian Eustace, 49, was later charged with public order offences and appeared before magistrates in Coventry this May where he was handed a community order and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.

The Pcs actions were described as "brave in the extreme" and "in accordance with the highest traditions of British policing".

At a ceremony in Edgbaston, Birmingham, they received a Chief Constable's Commendation from CC Chris Sims in front of family, friends and colleagues - dressed in their official police uniform.

Chief Superintendent Alex Murray, from Solihull Police, said: "There was a lot of interest in this particular case for obvious reasons but, joking apart, Pcs Griffin and Cave were faced with a very dangerous man in difficult circumstances and they stepped up to the plate.

"Let's not lose focus on the risk they exposed themselves to, without any protection - in tackling this man. Whether they were in fancy dress or not - the fact is they chose to put a member of the public's safety above their own and then cancelled their night out to make sure a professional job was done."