Police unveil three-wheeled patrol scooters

This electric three-wheeled scooter could soon be patrolling a street near you.

The machine, known as the T3 personal mobility vehicle, is designed to allow officers to cover a greater amount of ground than on foot.



It has a top speed of 25mph, a range of more than 20 miles and is equipped with a police siren and red and blue flashing lights.

Already used by some forces in the U.S., the £4,500 scooter was unveiled at the Association of Chief Police Officers' annual conference in Manchester, where PC Colin Chamberlain became the first British officer to test drive it. He said: "It's great. It would be excellent to use in the city centre. It's nice and smooth and pretty nippy."

Others were less impressed with the machine, which bears some resemblance to Sir Clive Sinclair's ill-fated C5 electric car. One senior officer said: "It looks like a tricycle for kids or a space-age mobility aid and I can see it provoking mirth on the streets."