An Essex Police sergeant is being praised for going above and beyond his duty looking after one man - cooking him a hot dinner.

Sgt Jed Raven, PC Pipe and PC Thomas-Ower were called to check on a man in Colchester after concerns were raised about his welfare.

When they arrived PC Pipe and PC Thomas-Ower reassured the man and made sure other services knew he was in need of support.

Sgt Raven also discovered the man was not eating regularly - and offered to fix him up a quick dinner of leek and potato soup with bread on the side.

Sgt Raven said: "We're more than crime fighters and we care about our community, a small gesture can often go a long way and I'm glad we were able to make sure this man was feeling better when we left him.

"We've referred him to support in his area and hope that he knows he has people around him when he is feeling low."

District commander for Colchester, chief inspector Rob Huddlestone, said: "Underneath our uniform we are simply people who care about others and want to help."