Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight police officers, police staff and local residents have been pulling out all the stops to help those stranded during the winter weather.
Hampshire Constabulary’s Chief Constable has praised his team for going the extra mile in the heavy snowfall that has brought much of Hampshire and Isle of Wight to a standstill.
Communities have pulled together to help each other during these difficult conditions and local Safer Neighbourhood teams have been helping those who may otherwise be stuck.
Chief Constable Alex Marshall said: "Residents across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have pulled together and shown community spirit during our recent spell of bad weather and it is great to see everyone offering a helping hand to those who needed it.
"My officers have shown dedication during the difficult situations that they have been faced with over the last couple of days and I would like to say thank you to everyone for working hard and continuing to provide an excellent service to all our residents.
"I must also say thank you to our partner agencies who we have been working with closely to try and keep the two counties moving as much as possible.”
Police have been working successfully with local partners including local authorities, the Armed Forces and fire service personnel.
One of the biggest challenges over the last couple of days has been the 10-mile traffic jam on the A3(M) at Waterlooville with around 1,000 motorists being stranded and many of those forced to abandon their vehicles. Military trucks and Land Rovers were bought in to access the stranded motorists who were then evacuated to local rest centres.
There are still abandoned vehicles on the A3 and officers and the Highway Agency are working hard to get all motorists moving once again.
On average during this time of the year, Hampshire’s Control room expects to receive around 568 calls, between 6pm and midnight on Tuesday 5, January 2010 we received 1,308 calls, with 366 calls in one hour – the majority in relation to the weather.
Here are some more tales from Hampshire’s officers from the last few days…
Off-duty Sergeant Alan Watts, Sergeant Jane Watts and their eight-year-old daughter Megan, headed out in Bursledon and handed out several cups of soup to motorists stranded at the A27 Bridge, rescued a family member, found their neighbours walking from their car and dug and pushed numerous cars out of the snow.
Portsmouth-based Sergeant Pete Jones, also off duty, headed down to the A3M on Tuesday night with his wife and daughter, armed with flasks of hot drinks, biscuits and pies to help out the stranded motorists who had been stuck there for hours. Trevor Ford, a member of the public who's arctic lorry was stuck on the slip road also helped out to get cars (and even an Asda lorry!) unstuck and out of the snow.
Meanwhile over on the Isle of Wight, PC Michael Hughes and PC Liz Manning called into the nearby Monastery, Quarr Abbey, in Ryde. Despite the closed monastic order the monks offered shelter to stranded motorists and officers and made soup and bread. Ten people were accommodated overnight including families with small children.
Snow problem to walk to work
Police officers and staff across the force have been going the extra mile to get to local police stations, often in difficult conditions.
Those who could not make it into their usual place of work have responded in their droves and been deployed to assist in the local policing effort.
Others from across the force, including specialist units and support staff, worked long hours overnight and into the day to help stranded people.
Here are just a few examples:
- PC Andrew Laverick put on a pair of shorts and got out his racing bike to cycle seven miles to work.
- PCSO Steve Hill walked five miles from his home in Locks Heath to his beat at Hedge End.
- Paul Paxford, Volume Crime Unit Supervisor walked five miles from his home in Bursledon to Southampton Central.
- Joe Shields, Station Enquiry Officer at Cosham walked five miles from Waterlooville.
- Karen Green, Central Ticket Office, walked three miles to work every day the snow came – determined that it would help get rid of the Christmas weight gain.
- Members of the Witness care unit at Basingstoke walked up to five miles to make sure witnesses we're kept informed about what was happening at the court (photo attached).
- A team from Surrey Police, who, unable to get into their own county to work, attended police stations in Hampshire. One team of four Surrey officers patrolled in a Hampshire police 4x4 to assist the recovery effort on the A3, together with a major crime detective who could get to his Major Incident Room.
And a few more…
Spotted: Officers by Swanwick Railway Station trying to pull a lorry out of the road. TPT Officers were assisted by a passing ambulance crew, coast guard personnel, Detective Gary Steward who was trekking to work and local garage workmen who had provided a Land Rover for towing purposes.
Spotted: Bitterne PCSO Andrew Dawson attempting to walk six miles to work in the snow at 6am on Tuesday, January 6 - having abandoned his car in snow on Bursledon Road the previous night, and walking a resident and young child back to Titchfield before returning to his family in Warsash.
Spotted: DS Jamie Wiseman taking part in local youth engagement work by throwing snowballs at local teenagers on a wintry evening in Chandler's Ford.
And a special thanks to Guy Salmon Land Rover, who have lent a Freelander worth around £25,000 and a Range Rover, worth £52,000 to assist police in Portsmouth during the snowy weather.
