From cartoon character Desperate Dan to the Cheshire Cat, Sky News assembles some of the most notorious criminal e-fits.

The Cheshire Cat from Wonderland and Zippy from Rainbow are unlikely to be the suggestions police had in mind when asking the public for help recognising potential criminals using their e-fit technology.

Despite drawing plenty of ridicule from social media users, forces across the UK insist the computer-generated images remain a useful tool in aiding investigations.

But sometimes, no matter how much you might be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, the conjured up mugshots are almost impossible to take seriously.

Starting with the robbery suspect who this week was compared to an extra from The Life of Brian, Sky News has assembled some of the most notorious criminal e-fits to have been released in recent years.