Arresting nation gains a new cop

Caroline Ludford is doing the same job in a new country. Picture / Paul Estcourt

When British policewoman Caroline Ludford and her husband visited New Zealand for a holiday, they fell in love with the country.

When they returned home, Mrs Ludford sent New Zealand police an email asking them to let her know if they were ever recruiting in Britain.

She got the message she wanted last year.

Now, three years after her holiday, the 42-year-old is about to hit the roads as a Kiwi cop.

Mrs Ludford is one of 15 British officers starting work today at the North Shore motorway patrol unit.

The officers were among 97 British recruits who finished a three-month conversion training course at the Police College last week.

Mrs Ludford said the law and the powers of a police officer in England were "very, very similar" to New Zealand so she was not expecting too many problems in adjusting to the change.

Mrs Ludford spent 17 years policing in the Greater Manchester area.

She loves working in the traffic section, and said the highlight of her career was attending the Queen's Birthday Jubilee celebrations.

Her husband, Steven, also a police officer, will spend time in both countries until he retires in the UK in a couple of years and moves to New Zealand.