Policeman wins award in Lithuania

Pc Gary Petengell used a phrase book and CDs

A policeman from Norfolk has become the first foreigner to win a Pride of Lithuania national award.

Pc Gary Petengell, from Great Yarmouth, received a Personality of the Year award at a ceremony in the capital Vilnius, live on national television.

He became a household name in the Baltic state after he taught himself Lithuanian to communicate with migrants who have settled in Norfolk.

Lithuania's president and prime minister both attended the ceremony.

Pc Petengell has appeared on the front page of Lithuania's biggest selling daily paper, Lietuvos Rytas.

A film crew from the state's main commercial channel, TV3, shadowed Pc Pettengell around Great Yarmouth last month to create an in-depth profile which was broadcast ahead of the awards ceremony.

He started learning Lithuanian from a phrase book and a CD set when increasing numbers of Lithuanians began to arrive in Great Yarmouth.

More than 50,000 Lithuanians are thought to have come to the UK after the country joined the European Union in 2004.

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