A Met police outrider in central London.

VE02 JVC This is a Vauxhall Astra from North Yorkshire Police’s fleet. It does not carry any blue lights but is battenburg marked.



This is the rear view of the Astra.

X257 JNT A Ford Transit police support unit, based at North Yorkshire Police’s central area headquarters.



The rear view. This vehicle is used to carry items for policing purposes, but is not used for emergency responses.

W642 JJA A Vauxhall Astra from Greater Manchester Police.

OY52 RNA, PN52 XPW and W742 DNW are a line up of three North Yorks. police trials bikes. They are battenburg marked and are used to patrol areas that are inaccessible to regular vehicles.



The rear view of the three bikes.

D297 TGT This is a mobile police museum exhibition unit. It is a converted 1984 Leyland bus that was spotted in Teesside.

YJ03 NNH A North Yorks. 2003 Ford Transit personnel carrier.

S735 HUB A NYP Volvo S70 with a Vector light bar and amber flashing lights to the rear.

S776 MKH is a Humberside Police Vauxhall Omega estate.



The rear view of the Omega, showing the high visibility markings and Humberside livery.

Many Humberside traffic vehicles have light bars with a matrix sign in the centre. The lightbar on the Omega can only show two words, ‘police’ and ‘stop’. The front-facing sign is in mirror image (shown) whereas the rear-facing sign is written in the regular way.

P759 TTC Humberside Police decided to go with the lesser-known Proton Persona 1.3 LSi for their main panda cars. Here is one of their 1997 examples, somewhat lacking in livery when viewed from head on.



The side view shows the traditional red stripe of Humberside Police. This Proton is a sensible alternative to Ford’s and Vauxhall’s offering for beat cars. In 1997 Persona LSi would have only cost £8800 in the showroom, and even less when bought in bulk by the police.



The rear view, again showing the lack of livery.

YX02 NXR Humberside continued to get Personas for a number of years. Pictured is a 2002 plate example. It has been given a more eye-catching livery as well as blue lights mounted on the parcel shelf. Note that the body shape has not changed from the 1997 example.

YX02 GUW A Humberside Mercedes Sprinter van in riot guise.



The rear view, showing the wall of high visibility hatch markings on the rear doors.

S405 JRH Another Sprinter, this time in regular patrol livery. It has only two rotating blue beacons on the roof and dates from 1998.

N726 DAG A third Merc Sprinter 312D in control unit livery. This vehicle will be used by Humberside Police at major incidents as an office and communications base.

YA02 YBP A West Yorkshire Police Mercedes C-class estate. This type of Mercedes is not widely used by police forces in the UK.



The side profile of the same car.

A WYP Mercedes Sprinter riot van YG02 AVE and a Honda Pan-European motorbike W52 CWR escort a procession of war protestors in the centre of Leeds.



A closer look at the West Yorks. motorbike. The officer is overseeing the generally good-natured procession.

AJ51 XVP A WYP Peugeot Partner. This vehicle is different from other in the WYP and NYP fleet as it has windows all round, meaning no cage for prisoners.

NL02 VHT and S851 BVK are a pair of Northumbria Police Nissan Terranos. The 1998 model on the left has different livery, blue roof lights and bodywork compared to the 2002 model on the left.

W218 ONP The wheels have come off this police car – literally! A W registration South Yorkshire Police Vauxhall Omega is on the ramps at the force workshops.

Also in a rare condition is this Honda ST1100 police motorcycle. The rear wheel has been removed for maintenance and the panniers lie in the foreground.

YR52 VCT A South Yorks Police 2002 Ford Mondeo in battenburg livery.



The rear view of the same car. Notice that it does not carry the force crest; only some small writing on the side indicates its county.

X840 AHE A South Yorks. Police Peugeot 306 panda car.

AK51 TFX is a Peugeot 607 police demonstrator.



The side view of this sleek Pug.

P446 JKY A Toyota Hi-Lux double-cab pick up truck belonging to South Yorkshire Police. This vehicle is fitted with yellow flashing lights as it is used for recovery work only.

A brand new SY Police Peugeot 307. This vehicle has had its livery added but is awaiting the fitting of blue lights to the roof and behind the front grille. It is yet to be registered.



The rear view, showing the livery and lack of registration plates.

YP52 DLJ An operational South Yorkshire Police Pug 307 on the streets of Sheffield city centre.

YN03 GMV is a South Yorks Police Peugeot Partner dog van.



The rear view. Notice the cage for the dogs, the vents in the roof and the repeater blue lights at the top of the rear doors. A Crimestoppers sticker is subtly placed on the rear window.

Y574 HHL A SYP Volvo V70 T5 traffic policing car.



A rear look at a comparable Volvo. This car is awaiting its roof callsign and internal comms to be added before it is registered.

N976 CET A SYP LDV personnel transporter, with riot grille and reinforced headlamps.



The rear view showing the high visibility livery which almost hides the word ‘police’. Also note the lack of blue lights on the roof – all of them are on the sides.

V585 HKU A single-cab Toyota pick-up in Sheffield. All of South Yorks maintenance (and similar) vehicles are liveried up to promote the corporate image and help prevent improper use. They are not fitted with blue lights or sirens.

Y492 HUA A West Yorkshire Police Volvo estate on a dual carriageway in Leeds. Notice how the registration plate has been moved to the bumper to facilitate the fixing of a variable message illuminating matrix sign.

DK51 NYU A Cheshire Police CCTV van, which also has an automated registration reading and checking camera on board.

Y712 HWY A North Yorkshire Police Volvo road-policing vehicle is positioned to warn traffic and protect the scene of a road traffic collision caused by driver error in thick fog.

S47 CUA A West Yorkshire Ford Transit video van with riot grille

W362 UAG A Humberside Police Volvo V70, slowly disappearing in the heavy snowfall. Covered in snow is the matrix sign located in the centre of the blue light bar. It illuminates ‘POLICE’ to the front under normal circumstances.

FY02 UYS A 2002 Rover police car from Lincolnshire Police.



The rear view of the same car. The dirty winter roads make the car look somewhat sorry for itself!

A Northumbria Police Landrover Freelander. Notice the battenburg stripe and website address on the side of the car.

YG52 FYP A Ford Transit used by North Yorkshire Police. It is interesting to note that this vehicle was built quite some time before it was registered. A revised shape Transit was introduced in March 2000.



The rear view. Notice the stops on the doors which both open 270 degrees to lie flat with the bodywork and the white lights that can illuminate the street at night.

M917 GJU A Ford Transit police van, with blue lights flashing, temporarily closing a road in York city centre.

X784 NWR A Volvo V70 T5 is blocking another stretch of road in York. The police officer is directing traffic away from a large gas leak.



The rear view of the same vehicle. The importance of keeping people away from the hotel where the leak is emanating is greater than normal due to firefighters being on strike (November 2002).

R162 ULX A Metropolitan Police Vauxhall Omega estate escorts a wide load of a boat to the Earl’s Court show.

V944 RDN and V948 RDN A North Yorkshire Police Volvo S70 T5 and V70 T5 are positioned for official photographs outside a stately home.



The rear view is just as impressive! These pictures were taken in 2000.

P39 PWY A West Yorkshire Police Landrover Defender. This vehicle has reinforced windows and grilles over the lights and windscreen.

YD52 RPO This is a 2002 dog patrol vehicle from WYP. It does not have blue lights fitted.

R125 BUA A WYP Mercedes Sprinter Command Unit, with retractable communications antenna.

YB02 AVF A WYP prisoner transportation Mercedes Sprinter van, complete with riot grille, reinforced headlamps and small, tinted windows.



A close up of the WYP livery on the side of the above vehicle.

W54 CWR A Ford Escort dog van. The vents in the rear window are to allow the dogs fresh air. The Ford Escort was replaced with the Focus in 1998, but no van version was available. A small number of the Escort vans were produced until 2003 when they were replaced by the similarly-sized Ford Transit Connect.

V366 FVU A North Yorkshire Police Collision Investigation Unit. The term ‘collision’ is used instead of ‘accident’ because most of the incidents they attend could have been prevented.



The rear view. The height of the vehicle means that blue lights on the roof would be difficult to see, so they are mounted on the bodywork. These Mercedes CIU’s were featured on the Channel 4 series ‘Crash’..

V337 DCB A Greater Manchester Police Range Rover.