Coleen Rooney-style investigative skills sought by Essex Police

Coleen Rooney (left) said she had narrowed down the source of fake tabloid stories to the Instagram account of Rebekah Vardy (right)

A police force is looking for people with the investigative skills of Coleen Rooney to consider becoming detectives.

The wife of former England footballer Wayne Rooney claimed someone using Rebekah Vardy's Instagram account had been leaking stories about her.

She then outlined the internet sleuthing that led to the discovery.

In a tweet, Essex Police suggested those with similar abilities consider joining its fast-track detective scheme.

In a social media post, Mrs Rooney described how she blocked all accounts except Mrs Vardy's from her personal Instagram account, and then posted fake stories to see if they would be picked up by the press.

She said this enabled her to confirm the source of the leaks as the Instagram account of Mrs Vardy, wife of Leicester City and England striker Jamie Vardy.

Mrs Vardy denied the allegation.

In its tweet, Essex Police said: "Have you read about @ColeenRoo [ColeenRooney's] 'detective' work? If you have an investigative mind and want a challenging and rewarding career, put your skills to use but get paid for it."

One Twitter user said: "If only you could pay the same allowance as I bet @ColeenRoo gets from @WayneRooney."

Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy last played together in 2016