MEET THE MET'S NEWEST RECRUIT (8/5/03)

This article is from tonight's Evening Standard.

With his telescopic truncheon, riot shield and handcuffs, he looks every inch the modern police officer - but at just over 30cm tall, the Met's newest recruit seems likely to worry few hardened offenders.

Scotland Yard hopes the figure, conceived with the producers of The Bill television series, will do for the police force what Action Man did for the Army. And if sales take off, it says, the royalties will be fed back into real-life crime fighting.

The "fully poseable male action figure", designed for children aged three and above, has even been assigned a rank and number - he is Public Order Police Constable SO595.

Like Action Man, PC SO595 comes with a range of outfits and accessories, including a flak jacket, boots, fire extinguisher and radio. His loudhailer, however, may prove less popular with parents.

If the figure proves a hit, it is expected Scotland Yard will give Freemantle Media - the team behind The Bill - the go-ahead to market a wider range of police figures and vehicles. Plans are already afoot for a female police sergeant, a police van, a police helicopter with a police air observer and a motorcycle traffic sergeant.

A spokesman for the Met said: "The agreements are subject to standard royalty rates and subject to the take-up of the product. All revenues will be recycled into suitable Met police activities."

Even before PC SO595 has been assigned his first mission in playrooms across the country, Scotland Yard is considering other ways to exploit its famous name.

A deal has been signed with Corgi to make toy police cars, and the force is also assessing the viability of a tourist shop selling Scotland Yard memorabilia.

As the final touches are made to PC SO595 ahead of a summer sales launch, toy companies will be looking to expand the concept even further. And there is already one clear gap in the market - a villain for him to arrest.