A pocket-sized police officer is hoping to prove size is not everything when she joins Twickenham police.

At just 5ft 1in PC Ellie Murphy barely reaches the shoulders of her colleague Martyn Evans who towers above her at 6ft 7in.

The 21-year-old spent two years as a volunteer special constable with Kingston police before joining the full-time force.

She is now a probationary constable with London’s Metropolitan Police and will be posted to Twickenham after 18 weeks’ training.

The pair’s 18in height difference was captured when they were pictured together after their passing out parade at Hendon Police College on Friday, January 17.

Despite average heights increasing over the generations the minimum height for police recruits in the UK has declined.

Bobbies in the 19th and early 20th centuries had to be at least 5ft 10in, which decreased to 5ft 8in for men and 5ft 4in for women in 1960.

Luckily for PC Murphy today there is no minimum.