So would you mind clearing something up for me?
On M62 today at around 4pm, J22 (get the facts in) something unmarked in blues & twos came flying up behind me...the blues looked a bit larger than usual and the twos sounded a bit quieter than normal, but obviously I got out of the way sharpish.
Thing is, it was a van. A dull as dishwater VW T5 thing, with clear windows all round, like it belonged to a builder/hippie. Not a nice one, if you know what I mean. I couldn't figure out what purpose it would have as an undercover motorway vehicle, other than it would be impressively undercover!!!
Do CID drive around in random vans, or was I done by some bright spark with access to the internet and some electrical skills?
The main headlights were also in sequence.
Was it a grey one?
A mate at work has an ex-fire Landrover 110 - with working headlight flashers and blues in the grille still.
He is MRT, and does not use blues but has been known to use the headlights regularly to get some tourist to shift over...
Ok, something definitely odd going on. I saw [b]another[/b] one today at 6:45pm on same stretch, near Saddleworth - a Sprinter van, didn't get a good look at occupants but it was a bloody motorway maintenance van with orange strip lights on top, but with blues going in grille & boshing along at 100mph+
What's going on; is there some kit doing the rounds to get you home quick being sold in West Yorkshire!?
take the number down and report to police.
In London on 7/7 I saw all manner of odd (some quite scruffy) unmarked (but with hidden lights) vans booting round with armed police in...
+1 Project
Get it reported. Seriously dangerous!
I would have done, but it was the opposite carriageway which is elevated (by the farmhouse for anyone that knows it!)
My lying builder told me he was finishing a job in Liverpool today!
Being on the motorway wouldn't necessarily mean it's role was to do with the motorway.
There's quite a few unmarked white VW vans with hidden lights about.
One used to park just past the pub at Hollingworth Lake at weekends.
Also used to lurk amongst the legit vans for sale opposite Morrisons in Tod.
Clever.
I would have done, but it was the opposite carriageway which is elevated (by the farmhouse for anyone that knows it!)
No chance of getting a reg number across that big gap but I would definitely be having a word with West Yorks or GMP depending on which way it was going as they can zoom in on CCTV.
There's more cameras down the GMP section than Jessops so they will have caught it.
I reported a suspect police car about 10 years ago to GMP as it looked dodgy and they made enquiries, rang me back and it turned out it was a demo vehicle they had on trial they was really grateful I'd rang.
Obviously this situation seems more suspect than that but they will be interested as there could be more serious motives to having blues than just wanting to get home........
Being on the motorway wouldn't necessarily mean it's role was to do with the motorway.
You're joking Shirley? I spend 3 hours of my working day on the motorway, I don't think all vans are motorways vehicles, but orange beacons is used by motorway/breakdown vehicles in my experience.
EDIT: I will report it tomorrow, because something doesn't feel right in both incidents.
There were a couple today. Special Forces have been known to use plain Disco/Range Rovers and assorted vans. I don't know why in Manchester though.
I've seen plenty of normal vehicles giving it the blues & twos, but something about the ones I've mentioned makes me think they have sod all to do with the police.
There are various Police ones. The ugliest being that Yank-shape Impreza.
I've seen a dark/smoked glass T5 in Manchester and a senior Officer in a BMW 7series. Guessing thats his perk
senior Officer in a BMW 7 series. Guessing thats his [s]perk[/s] own car
Unless it was the Chief - but his isn't a Beemer
Doesn't say anything about orange lights in your OP.
The Prison Service have some odd stuff. When I was at Frankland there was an incident where some vans turned up & I thought,'whoaa, never seen one of those before'. Mainly specialist dog vans, (but not with orange lights)
I was on business in Istanbul a couple of years ago and the traffic crossing the bridges was horrendous. Bloke in a clapped out family car put his blues on to get through. Our guide says it was common and anyone getting caught got a small fine. Great thing was that they only got fined once per day so it they got busted they were free to put them on again for the rest of the day and just showed their "receipt" if they got caught again!!
Silver latest shape Bregante. He was driving pulling into Stretford nick. I was driving past having a nosey. Prob a courtesy car/on loan. The driver wasnt a big bloke. Quite slim (slight?) Built.
Doesn't say anything about orange lights in your OP.
...because that was the first one posted a month ago 😀 Something very wrong bout the second one to which this recent post relates. Just got off the phone to GMP and they seemed very interested. What a pleasant, well executed service 101 offers. I explained I felt a bit silly reporting such fluffy incident, but much interest taken in today's occurrence and although I couldn't give reg number, they took time, locations, description etc and thanked me for reporting.
Lovely. How the world should be.
It's not just police who have public warning equipment could be security services, SOCA etc. the vehicles they use may not appear your normal 'police issue' style vehicles. May not be obviously on motorway duties but needs to make ground to another location etc..
I don't doubt that, but when some MB sprinter is flying past in the opposite carriageway at a million mph while reaching down to the glovebox, you have to ask!
Looking for his meatloaf CD!
hora they have a hanger full of 4x4's etc 😉
OP, if you get any feedback from GMP, can you let us all know ?
I've just remembered an incident a few years ago when some lads in an Impreza were followed by a black Audi A3 for some distance.
After a while, this Audi turned on some blues in the grill, the lads pulled in, got out and the guys out of the Audi ran towards them and tried carjacking the Impreza
So, like I said before, there could be more to this than just getting through traffic, especially if flashed in the dark it would be difficult to see what exactly the vehicle behind is.
..because that was the first one posted a month ago
Well spotted!
OP why even call them? The fact that you dont even have a reg.
When I was in the army back in the eighties we'd provide "military aid to the civil powers". We used white Ford Transits fitted with B's + 2's. The vans displayed the DVLC plates and not military 12 AB 34 types. The sun visors could be pulled down to display 'police'.
We worked all over the UK and only at police request. I worked the west mids. and London and we borrowed a radio of the force we were advising. We'd be in plain clothes and carry military ID but were unarmed.
Hope that's of some help.
OP why even call them? The fact that you dont even have a reg.
You're right, I should do nothing & carry on..
I don't doubt that, but when some MB sprinter is flying past in the opposite carriageway at a million mph while reaching down to the glovebox, you have to ask!
Just a normal day for sprinter drivers 🙂
OP why even call them? The fact that you dont even have a reg.
With make, model, time and location and CCTV and other things it won't take long to find it and get a reg.
A few days ago I was on the M8, and a police van with lights and sirens went past on the opposite carriageway - closely followed by a bin lorry with all it's orange lights flashing.
What on earth kind of emergency required a bin lorry in a hurry?
Unmarked civvy vehicles don't always mean the Police. During a 'pull up a sandbag' session with a colleague of mine who spent time in Poole, he told me how he was driving a team van to a job up in Scotland. He was speeding (but not on blue lights) and was pulled by the coppers. The Copper pulled him over and gave it the usual "You were speeding" stuff. She then walked around the van. There was no way she could have missed the lights in the front grille of the van but chose not to mention it. She gave him a ticket and let him on his way. My colleague then said how glad he was that she didn't open up the back of the van. In the back there were eight blokes in the back wearing black kit and ready to go..... He got the ticket cancelled upon his return to Poole.
What on earth kind of emergency required a bin lorry in a hurry?
The Police refused to comment. 😉
Unmarked civvy vehicles don't always mean the Police. During a 'pull up a sandbag' session with a colleague of mine who spent time in Poole, he told me how he was driving a team van to a job up in Scotland. He was speeding (but not on blue lights) and was pulled by the coppers. The Copper pulled him over and gave it the usual "You were speeding" stuff. She then walked around the van. There was no way she could have missed the lights in the front grille of the van but chose not to mention it. She gave him a ticket and let him on his way. My colleague then said how glad he was that she didn't open up the back of the van. In the back there were eight blokes in the back wearing black kit and ready to go..... He got the ticket cancelled upon his return to Poole.
🙂
Me and a mate were taking some exhibits to a lab in Oxfordshire and got approached by Police as we were going back to our rather smart hire car at a services. Both in plain clothes and with shaven heads - my mate with a nose piercing. The bobby asked where we were travelling to and from and we still didn't disclose we were cops. He pnc'd the car which came back to the hire company and he decided he wasn't happy.
"What's in the boot lads?"
"About 20,000 ecstasy tablets, some coke and a beretta" says my mate.
As I pulled my warrant card out 😆
What on earth kind of emergency required a bin lorry in a hurry?
that's a rubbish story.
What on earth kind of emergency required a bin lorry in a hurry?
A fire in the back maybe ?
[i]What on earth kind of emergency required a bin lorry in a hurry?
that's a rubbish story.[/i]
It's the kind of trash Binners would come out with
What on earth kind of emergency required a bin lorry in a hurry?
A secret one. If you ask them why, they'll refuse to answer.
I grew up in Sandringham,one Christmas we were tearing about the back lanes in a dubious looking Peugeot 205. A Land Rover Discovery V8 stopped us. Two chaps in black got out and told us to F off and speed around somewhere else. They weren't interested in us, just didn't want attention around the house when the family were in residence. Lots of standard looking vehicles in the Royal Protection Squad.
They were nice chaps and my gun obsessed mate was quizzing them about the exact specs of their H&K gun collection.
bencooper - MemberWhat on earth kind of emergency required a bin lorry in a hurry?
and that's just the tip of it..
Bregante they probably thought 'Manc's search 'em' 😆
Last time I was down at boat house at the old Regiment in Hereford they had some really tastey motors 8)
(Spot the Ronin nod)
They were nice chaps and my gun obsessed mate was quizzing them about the exact specs of their H&K gun collection.
Nice chaps?
You said they told ypu to f off!
(Spot the Ronin nod)
I had (without the edit for the clue)
Too easy now 😉
I've just been Manchester and, according to Twitter, there has been a firearms incident at Salford Royal Hospital.
As I was going down Regent Road into the City, there was about 6 Police Land Rovers coming the other way, all on blues and in the middle of them was a Merc Vito, dark in colour with blues behind its grille and headlamps flashing.
Obviously part of GMP with its MX index number plate, but without it being on an emergency, could have looked like any Builder, Plumber or Courier.
As pictonroad, here in the leafy Carmarthenshire lanes it is not unknown to be asked to vacate the area if Charles and Camilla are visiting their country cottage.
Used to work in Sheffield not far away from the depot where they kept all the nice toys ie Mitsubishi Evo's, and un marked Civic Type R's, Imprezas, BM's etc. They had at least 1 unmarked van too.
There's a lot of recycling of rubbish jokes above 🙁