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Electric moped first for force
Avon and Somerset Constabulary has become the first police force in the UK to use an electric moped, as it bids to be tough on crime but not on the environment.
Officers from Highbridge in the Somerset West district are now using the mopeds, which run entirely on electricity and were manufactured in the US by the Electric Vehicle Transport firm.
Local community beat manager Gwilym Starks is behind the take-up of these vehicles, which he says are not just eco-friendly but have also enabled he and his fellow officers to rapidly access situations that they would not have been able to in a police car.
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He commented: "We find the mopeds are an excellent crime reduction and road safety tool as well as helping us to approach a scene or incident very quietly when necessary.
"They are also extremely economical and environmentally friendly as they have no emissions and can charge fully within three hours. I have already found them extremely useful in policing around Highbridge during their first week of use."
V&J Superbikes is supplying equipment for the mopeds, while one of the bikes is being sponsored by local firm Knightstone Housing and PC Starks thanked these companies for helping to facilitate their employment.
This follows another recent deployment of electric two-wheeled vehicles by Britain's police, with community support officers taking up use of a battery-powered mountain bike in Lincolnshire over the past few weeks.
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