A DEDICATED bobby just a day away from retirement was left in agony when he tackled a suspected burglar and was left with a wince-inducing shattered knee.

And adding insult to injury, it also cost Pc Dave Mangan a visit to Wembley to watch his beloved Birmingham City beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Carling Cup Final.

The former Solihull constable spent a week in plaster before having surgery to wire up the injury.

Still philosophical, he joked: “I was in the police service for more than 30 years and came through relatively unscathed.

“But with eight hours and 40 minutes to go, I broke my knee – that’s the glories of the job.”

Pc Mangan had been counting down the days to retirement and looking forward to the Cup Final when the incident happened in the last week of February.

The CID officer was returning to his office when he responded to reports of a burglary on Wherretts Well Lane, Solihull.

After racing to the scene he was confronted by three people running from the property and was sent crashing to the ground as he tried to stop one of them.

“I knew as soon as I went down I was in trouble” he said.