John Smith lives in the Spa and has been a special constable for more than 20 years, covering Evesham, Redditch, Worcester and now Droitwich.

Back in the 1980s, he wanted to join the police force but his career as a quantity surveyor was developing well - joining as a special gave him the best of both worlds as he only had to dedicate a minimum of four hours a week to the force.

There are two main groups of specials, the younger ones, aged 20 to 25, who use it as a route to join the regulars, and those aged 30 to 45 who want to give something back to the community.

Over the years John said things have changed greatly, giving specials more responsibility and the same powers as a regular police officer.

"Many things have changed and I can say that they are all for the better and mean that specials are now more of an asset to the force than ever before," he said.

Once unkindly termed 'hobby bobbies', specials are now trained to the same level as normal police officers and have the same uniform and equipment.

They are also taught to drive police vehicles and attend all graded jobs alongside the regular officers.

"Special events are a part of the job but these are few and far between and even these can lead to other calls," said John.

When John was covering a Remembrance Day Parade in 2000 with a regular officer, they were called to Rashwood where a woman's battered body had been found earlier that morning - it later became known as the Poppy Day Murders.

"You never know what your next shift will entail and that is why I enjoy it so much - I only wished that I had joined earlier," he added.

There are 36 special constables in South Worcestershire who, along with regular officers, cover a wide variety of cases including road accidents, missing people, murders and domestics.

Now the force is looking for more people to sign up as specials.

West Mercia Chief Inspector Rod Reynolds said: "Specials provide valuable assistance to the day to day work of police officers and have the same lawful powers as police constables.

"The support they provide cannot be under estimated," he added.

If you are interested in becoming a special you must be between 18 and 50, of a good character and a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen.

There will be two events in Droitwich where people can go along and ask special constables what the job entails.

The first one will be held at Salters Shopping Centre this Saturday between 10am and 4pm and then the following day people can go to Webbs of Wychbold, off the A38, in Wychbold, at 10am.

Alternatively you can call 01905 331014 for further information.