It was just a routine Christmas Eve at Brentwood police station in Essex ... until a disabled man, Charles Webber, called to say he was having trouble with his 15lb bird.

The seasonal supper was wedged so tight in the oven that he decided it was a job for the professionals.

Mr Webber, 68, and his friend Sheila Kingston, 52, who is also disabled, had nobody to take the turkey from the oven after a friend put it in.

Two officers on patrol made a diversion to Mr Webber's nearby home and heaved the bird out in the nick of time.

Mrs Kingston said: "These two very nice young men came along and I told them: 'At least it's a change from picking up drunks'.

"They thought it was very funny. We've had a sample now it's come out of the oven ... It's very tasty, done to perfection."

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