... and now 19 years ago. [Image from here is not available to guests]

Has nothing been learned, or done, in that time? [Image from here is not available to guests]

White water rafting, anyone?  [Image from here is not available to guests]

What will happen with the small "specialist" forces such as BTP? Combined with MoD Police, Atomic Energy Police etc??

Number of police forces to be cut in major shake-up

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The government is to radically reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales as part of what sources have called the largest reform of policing in decades.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce plans for police reform next week. She will pledge to "significantly" cut the number of forces from its current level of 43, and tell them to focus on serious and organised crime. Police chiefs have been calling for the creation of 12 "mega forces" to save money and boost crime-fighting efforts.

It could be years before changes are implemented, with government sources saying only that it will happen by the end of the next parliament, around 2034.

Mahmood will argue in a policy proposal that the current model of 43 forces is bureaucratic and wastes money, with each force running their own headquarters, management teams and backroom staff.

Ministers also believe the performance of local forces varies too widely across England. They believe smaller forces are less well equipped to deal with serious crime and respond to major incidents.

Mahmood is expected to say new, larger forces should focus on tackling serious and organised crime, as well as complex cases like murder and drugs. Ministers will also announce plans for new Local Policing Areas, with local officers focusing on neighbourhood policing.

It is proposed these will be set up in every borough, town or city across in England, and will be tasked with working with communities and fighting what the government calls "local crime", such as shoplifting, phone theft and drug dealing.

Government insiders acknowledge there is an "epidemic of every day offences" going unpunished, and say they believe criminals think they can "cause havoc on our streets with impunity" because people are forced to wait hours or days for police to investigate crimes. A government source said: "Where you live will no longer determine the outcomes you get from your force."

Ministers will not say next week exactly how many forces will exist under the new framework. Instead, an independent review will be announced to looking at precise details. Similar cuts have been proposed as long as 20 years ago, when then Home Secretary Charles Clarke suggested cutting the number of forces to 12.

Scotland also merged its forces in 2013 to create Police Scotland.

The home secretary's allies will sell these reforms as part of her "modernising agenda". A source said: "For decades, people have called for forces to be merged. Mahmood is a politician who is not scared of bold reform and a political fight."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: "Keir Starmer's forced police reorganisation will undermine efforts to flight crime across England and Wales, inevitably leading to centralised control and reduced policing in towns and villages across the country."

Some police chiefs have called for a revamp of policing in England and have backed reducing the number of forces.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: "Crime is changing, technology is evolving, and we need to be set up in the best possible way to tackle crime in the modern world, relentlessly focused on good quality neighbourhood policing alongside national threats. I know the home secretary shares this ambition. We look forward to seeing the government's white paper and working with them to ensure policing delivers outstanding results and rebuilds confidence with the communities we serve."

A spokesman for the Policing Federation, which represents officers from the rank of constable to chief inspector, said: "Fewer forces doesn't guarantee more or better policing for communities. Skills, capabilities and equipment need significant investment if the public and officers are going to see reform deliver in the real world. Any proposals must be driven by evidence and best practice, not lowest cost, and must strengthen rather than weaken frontline, investigative and specialist capability, neighbourhood policing and public confidence."

Did I see a 175 at Saltash this afternoon?

Three-wheeler record bid paused after engine 'exploded'

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Seth Scott (left) and Ollie Jenks are raising money for Yeovil-based charity, School in a Bag

Two men aiming to break a Guinness World Record - by being the first to travel from Devon to Cape Town in a three-wheeled car - hope to continue their travels after a blown engine ground their journey to a halt.

Oliver Jenks, 34, of Newton Abbot, Devon, and Seth Scott, 31, from Canada, set off from London on 24 October in their Reliant Robin called "Sheila the three-wheeler".

Speaking from Cameroon in central Africa, Jenks said: "There was a big knocking come from the engine. As we were on our way to the Congo [the engine] then exploded and nearly took off my leg."

Jenks thought the 10,000-mile (about 16,000km) journey had come to an end but said a replacement engine was being sent from Exeter.

The pair are raising money for Yeovil-based charity School in a Bag.

Speaking to Caroline Densley on BBC Radio Devon, Jenks said the incident had left "a gaping hole" in the side of the engine. "[It was] literally like somebody had shot it," he added. "We both knew it was over from there, really. We instantly accepted defeat."

Jenks said he and Scott were rescued by a group of people who picked them up in the back of a cattle truck. "Getting the car in the back was very difficult indeed, it was absolutely crazy," he added.

Jenks continued: "We had to take the doors off the back of the truck for Sheila to go up. We ended up being in the back of that truck for nine hours."

He said police stopped the cattle truck several times, and added "they were very confused with two men on the back of a cattle truck in a three-wheeled car".

"We had to explain ourselves six times in the middle of the night. Like, 'no we're not being taken hostage, they're just taking us back to the capital'," he said.

Jenks said the pair had managed to crowdfund money to pay for a new engine, which should arrive on Wednesday.

Did I see a 175 at Saltash this afternoon?

We are struggling to source any replacement road transport - we have fully exhausted the south of England for vehicles for tonight

In light of the torrential rain over the last 24 hours, and similar due for the next 48 hours, this doesn't bode well for re-opening anytime soon!

Sea: 1, train carriage window: 0.

Another alternative of house coal, if this was in short supply, was "gas works coke" which was alleged to be almost fire-proof.
It actually burnt well in a closed stove or boiler with a good draught, but was less satisfactory on an open fire.
Gas works coke was often made available for free to "the needy" or even to anyone if collected from the local gas works.
A number of lives were lost in accidents resulting from attempting to burn gas works coke in open fires.

For 26th December 1962, adding OTD for the big freeze of 1962/3 which is within my living memory

From Wikipedia


I remember my mother's school friend Hilda Rowley arriving back from India - via a ship and staying with us in Orpington before she headed back home up north.  We were cold anyway and had a problem sourcing any more coal to keep the house warmer.  The only thing we could obtain was some stuff called "Glowco" and we came to understand why - it glowed rather than burned and we had some of the dreadfully near-useless stuff clogging our bunkers of what felt like years!

OTD log - replaced:1226    2019    ~ Every HST Livery?     https://transportdesigned.com/pictures-every-single-hst-livery-ever/    hstyatt