They may be the very heart of middle England, with their famed jam and Jerusalem, a century of campaigning and membership including the Queen.

But it seems the genteel façade of the Women’s Institute may in fact be the masking a hotbed of crime.

A police officer has described none other than the WI of being the “biggest organised crime group” the UK faces, thanks to their network of members picking wild berries to sell at fetes.

Sergeant Colin Norden of Cambridgeshire Police said making a profit on the berries is technically breaking the law.

Speaking at a public council meeting, he reassured members that the police did not intend to prosecute, as WI joked they had been “slow to react” with the organisation recently celebrating its 100th anniversary.