The Lincolnshire Police force have welcomed a new member into its fleet of vehicles; a 5 ton John Deere tractor. With a top speed of 25mph, the tractor may not be suitable for high-speed road pursuits, but it will be in its element if the criminals decide to take to the Lincolnshire fields! With a custom police paint-job and the mandatory flashing blue lights, the John Deere 6630 may look like a bit of fun, but the Police force are taking it seriously and hoping it will win the battle against rural crime.
With a price tag of £50,000 (not including the eye-catching decor) the force are lucky to have borrowed it from the manufacturer for 6 weeks. Although it may not be used on a day to day basis, in the event of a flood or an environmental disaster, senior officers think it would come in more than handy.
Its main job is to show up to agricultural shows and encourage farmers to protect their vehicles, as if they go missing, their livelihood takes a battering! Last year over £42million worth of tractors were stolen, up by a third on 2008. The officers hope that being at the agricultural shows will make farmers more aware of this, and protect their vehicles with a special liquid which shows up under UV light, naming the owner.
The tractor isn’t operational, but a spokeswoman for the police force has assured us that if it does drive past a crime then it won’t ignore the situation.
If you think this is strange… check out some other vehicles the police have recruited; a Sussex Officer was seen riding a three-wheeled Can-Am Spyder Roadster touring trike, with a max speed of 125mph, and can reach 0-60 in the same time as a Porsche 911 Carrera – 4.5 seconds.
And last but not least, officers in Kensington were protecting the parks on Roller Blades.
Have you seen any more interesting modes of transport used by the police force?