Advertisement for new Isles of Scilly police officer attracts interest from Ukraine to US

Small office were taken aback by the global interest in the role

The Isles of Scilly are an idyllic spot in the UK (Rex)

A job advert for “quite possibly the most enviable” role replacing a police officer on the Isles of Scilly has gone global.

Thousands of people commented and shared the advert posted last week on the official Isles of Scilly Police Facebook page.

The post, written by Sergeant Colin Taylor, caused so much interest the local constabulary were forced to admit they may have “overcooked” the advertisement after their phone glowed “red hot” and they received applications from around the world.

In the post, shared almost 5,000 times online, the perfect candidate is described by as an individual who can (at 2am) “resolve a disagreement originating hours beforehand regarding the merits of sea salt verses rock salt between a couple of drunk chefs.”

Unique OpportunityThere is a post currently available for a Police Constable on the Isles of Scilly. Quite possibly...

Posted by Isles of Scilly Police on Wednesday, April 1, 2015

They must also be able to patiently tell holiday-makers they are a “real Police Officer,” and explain there are things to be done on the island, located off the southern-most tip of Cornwall, which last year recorded 57 individual crimes.

Most crucially, any prospective candidate must show “un-flinching confidence to know what to do when you are alerted to an abandoned seal pup making its way up the main street.”

In a later post, the force admitted that owing to “Clause 4.5.6 The post is only open to serving Police Officers from the uniform ranks of Devon and Cornwall Police.”

The spokesperson offered commiserations for all those who apparently applied from locations as diverse as Ukraine to South Africa, who are illegible for the role.

The Scilly force apparently received applications from the United States (including individuals in Texas, New York, Ohio, and Oklahoma), the Philippines, Thailand, Spain, Greece, Italy, Australia, Germany and Portugal – as well as “a smattering” from the British Isles.

Still, Sergeant Taylor offered a ray of hope: “The next job advert will be in April 2016 or earlier if either Mat or I fail our mandatory yearly police fitness test later this morning.”