It sounds like the perfect summer job for any football fan.

You're paid to be at the World Cup in Germany for as long as England stay in the tournament.

But, like all these things, there's a catch.

Despite being yards from the kick-off of every England match in this summer's tournament, Dc Huw James, Oxford's football intelligence officer, won't see a single ball being kicked.

He will be in Germany in his professional capacity, having been selected as one of 12 British uniformed police officers to help the German authorities handle the 150,000 English fans who are expected to descend on the country in June.

Dc James, who has been in his post for four years, said: "I'm very excited to have the chance to do this. As a British police officer, you don't get many opportunities to work abroad."

And Dc James, an Arsenal and Oxford United fan, said it didn't worry him missing all the on-the-pitch action.

He said: "Strangely enough, I have no desire to go to the matches. My place is on the street or out in the cities and airports. I'm not there to watch football."

But even as a Welshman, Dc James said he had two dreams for the summer seeing England come home with the World Cup and there being less trouble than at recent overseas tournaments.

It will be the first time British officers will work abroad in uniform and they will have to be sworn into the German police so they have the power to search and arrest suspected hooligans.

The 37-year-old father of three said: "I'm not going to be a baton-wielding robocop. We're there to aid communication between German police and English fans."

Having worked at Euro 2004, in Portugal, Dc James knows how easy it is for communication to break down between fans and authorities.

He is learning basic German to help in him in his unusual posting.

Dc James said: "Problems can sometimes arise just because of something simple like the language barrier or cultural differences."

He has worked as a spotter a plain clothes officer in football crowds for nine years in domestic football and two-and-a-half years on the international scene.

He said: "I'll be there as the eyes and ears of the German authorities, sharing my experience with them and giving them advice.

"I hope I don't have to use the powers I will be given. If I have to, it means the situation has not gone well."

About 3,000 hooligans have already been banned from travelling abroad to matches this year, 24 of them as a result of incidents linked to Oxford United games.

Dc James said: "We're not expecting trouble, but it will be the biggest football tournament fans will be travelling to en masse since the World Cup in France in 1998.

"Everything is in place to make sure if there's trouble, it's stamped out quickly."