Popular bobby Kirsty Down is going to be back on the beat after a brush with serious illness.

The Police Community Support Officer – who won a national police award for the way she promotes policing measures on social media – was stricken by meningitis in February and had a spell in hospital.

Now she’s said she will be returning to work – gradually at first – from tomorrow (April 19).

‘I can’t wait to be back,’ she said to the 12,200-plus people who follow her @SaltashPCSO account on Twitter.

She said she had been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support she had received – including from TV stars Philip Schofield and Nick Knowles – and thanked everybody who had been in touch.

The national charity Meningitis Now called Kirsty a ‘tweeting star’. Posting a picture of her on social media, the charity wished her all the best.