Crimes reported during 'Tweet-a-thon' in Calcot

Thames Valley Police in West Berkshire are tweeting for 12 hours

Police in Berkshire have tweeted about the arrest of a 33-year-old man an hour into their 12-hour "tweet-a-thon".

They are using the Twitter network to highlight their work and raise awareness of crimes.

One tweet read: "Police have arrested a male in Calcot for burglary! Officers will now be searching the house for stolen property."

Sgt Paula Morgan said they were focusing on Calcot by posting messages with the hashtag #calcottweetathon.

Burglaries have been a particular problem in the area with 16 incidents reported in the past two months alone.

Other messages on their feed include a reported robbery and information about forensic investigators.

Sgt Morgan said the pilot would hopefully encourage people to call in with information.

Police may post pictures of poor practices, like homes being left empty with windows open, but stressed only if the properties could not be identified.

It follows similar projects by other forces in England.

West Midlands Police forensic investigators tweeted live from real crime scenes while Greater Manchester Police posted every incident it dealt with over a 24-hour period in October last year.