A FORMER police inspector at Brierley Hill and his wife have been praised after their quick-thinking helped arrest would-be burglars while off-duty. 

Police intuition kicked in for husband and wife Richard and Lisa Jones after spotting a suspicious pair as they travelled through Lower Penn last June.

They approached the man and woman outside their targeted residential property and Richard, an offender management inspector at Brierley Hill, was assaulted as on-duty uniformed officers were called.

The suspects tried to discard evidence but eagle-eyed Lisa, a sex offender management constable in Wolverhampton, was able to point officers from Staffordshire Police to where screwdrivers had been thrown.

A back door was found to have been forced and the man and woman were arrested and later charged for attempted burglary.

The off-duty officers have since retired from West Midlands Police after decades of long service.

Richard received a Chief Constable’s Commendation and Lisa a Chief Constable's Award during a ceremony at Tally Ho! last Tuesday (February 13).

Richard said: "Having observed the couple for a few minutes we both knew immediately that they were up to no good and reacted instinctively despite being off duty."