By Hugh Dunnett, Crime Correspondent

The deductive skills of new police recruits are being put to the test playing the murder mystery game Cluedo.

Students must spend one afternoon a week trying to work out if Miss Scarlet committed a gruesome murder in the ballroom with a candlestick.

Another day they will see if Mrs Peacock bludgeoned someone to death in the study with lead piping.

Police training officer Sgt Lorraine Fisher, 34, explained: “If we want our police force to be the best, then this tough new training technique will pay rich dividends.

“In Suffolk, there are a lot of murders in Tudor country mansions. When the police arrive there is always a bunch of shady characters all claiming to be innocent.

“This usually includes a retired colonel, a vicar and a professor.

“Like something out of Midsomer Murders, the murder weapon is a little weird, such as lead piping, a rope, candlestick and even a wrench.

“It means practising on Cluedo is perfect training for our county police recruits.”

It is expected that the Cluedo training will lead to a dramatic cut in the number of unsolved crimes across the UK.

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