A TECH-savvy policeman who regularly uses Twitter to give crime prevention advice and share witness appeals - as well as showing off his prowess in the kitchen - is up for an award.

His interesting and informative tweets have led to PC Dave Wise being shortlisted in the Best Individual Tweeting Officer at the National Police Twitter Awards.

Tweeting under the handle @CopThatCooks, the 30-year-old said: "It's very humbling to have been shortlisted for the final - particularly as it's based on votes from members of the public so it means a lot.

"There are a lot of officers, police staff and volunteers doing really interesting and informative work on social media so it feels great to have been recognised in this way.

"Twitter is, of course, not the be all and end all to police communication but it is now a significant tool which allows direct communication between officers and the public that isn't really possible any other way.

"I've been behind several 'police team' accounts for a few years now but my own account, @CopThatCooks, mixes a wide range of crime prevention style messages with witness appeals and warnings as well as a good amount of half decent cooking - I hope."

PC Wise, who moved over to Worcester in June after policing in Malvern for eight years, has more than 3,000 followers on Twitter and has tweeted more than 5,000 times.

One of his most popular tweets was about online scams and featured a line of policemen and rabbit emojis with the words 'scroll fast it turns into a shark'.

More than 3,500 tweets were sent by the public to nominate a police account for the national awards, with the winner of each category to be announced at the Northants Police headquarters in December.

One overall winner will be invited to attend the SMILE (Social Media In Law Enforcement) conference in Long Beach, California in 2017 to share their experience of policing and social media.

PC Wise continued: "Certainly for me, I feel that Twitter allows people to see beyond just a uniform and breaks down some of those barriers.

"I'd like to think someone who follows me on social media and has had a conversation with me once or twice would be much more likely to approach me to report a crime or provide information that they may have otherwise kept to themselves.

"It's also important to have a credible online presence - just like walking the beat so people feel reassured in their local area, being accessible and engaging online as a cop hopefully makes one or two people feel that it is a safer place."

"You can keep up to date with policing news from around Worcestershire by following @SWorcsCops, Worcestershire's Supertintendent @SuptKevPurcell and me too, @CopThatCooks."