The man photographed for Britain's first ever recorded police mugshot was a thief who was banished to Australia for stealing cushions.

Isaac Ellery was convicted in March 1853 and sentenced to seven years transportation for stealing four 'gig' cushions and was found guilty seven years later of producing counterfeit coins.

His mugshot is said to be the oldest in Britain after images of Victorian criminals were released by police.

Custody photographs unearthed in the West Midlands Police archives show crooks dressed in top hats following their arrests more than 150 years ago.

Police in Birmingham were the first force in the world to take mugshots with Ellery snapped in 1853.