Police support officer saves drowning motorists: but LibDems join Tories in attack on police...

Sad to hear LibDem peer Shirley Williams' cheap and wholly unwarranted attack on the police on Any Questions this weekend.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 programme, she said:

It would be nice if Neighbourhood Policemen actually saw themselves as responsible for saving drowning kids...it seems extraordinary that they think they can stand to one side and watch it happen.

It was a disgraceful reference to the actions in the summer of two community police officers called to a Wigan lake where a young boy had drowned.

As I reported following a similar attack by David Cameron in his Conference speech, it has been established that the police officers did not stand to one side and watch.

The inquest heard that sadly, the boy was probably dead before the officers arrived and there was nothing they could do to save his life: No-one knew which part of a lake the size of a football pitch he was in, and visibility was nil in the black water.

Of course, the real problem for both the Tories and the LibDems is that they opposed the very idea of police community support officers when they were introduced by Labour - and now they can't bear to admit they were wrong.

PCSOs - and neighbourhood policing - have been an enormous success.

Maybe either David Cameron or Shirley Williams will find it in their hearts to recognise the bravery of the PCSO officer left injured in a 'hit and run' as he attempted to talk to a driver.

What about honouring the PCSO praised in tonight's Peterborough Evening Telegraph who waded into flood waters and saved two people trapped in a car..?

Don't hold your breath...

Is anyone there? Police call off armed siege of empty building...

An armed siege of a house in the West Midlands has been called off this afternoon - after police took over three hours to realise there was nobody inside.

The drama began at 11 this morning following reports to police that someone with a weapon had entered the property.

Staffordshire Police helicopter was scrambled, marksmen trained their weaopns on the house, dogs deployed, streets cordoned off, neighbours told to stay indoors and a local school was 'locked down'...as officers shouted "Come out".

But at 2.30pm this afternoon, officers entered the mid-terrace property and found there was nobody inside!

There'll no doubt be lots of leg-pulling, but reports of people wielding weapons have to be taken seriously and the officers had to be sure what they were getting into when they entered the house.

I don't blame them for being cautious, but three hours does seem a rather long time to realise they were on a wild goose chase.

Picture and details from the Stoke Sentinel. Hat-tip to 5Live.

Maddie suspect found guilty by redtops...

Has the tabloid feeding frenzy on the hunt for missing Madeleine gone OTT?

Today, the redtops competed for each other to print the most private details about the man who has now been officially named as a suspect by Portuguese Police.

Time will tell if he had anything to do with the disappearance of Madeleine, a case which has touched all our hearts - thanks to the media. Everyone prays that the beautiful four-year-old will be reunited with her distraught family soon and their nightmare is finally ended.

But the 'suspect' has already apparently been tried by the media - and duly found guilty.

Reporter Julie Mount revealed - exclusively in The Sun of course - that she last met the suspect in the street in Praia da Luz two days ago as she returned from a service attended by Maddie’s parents.

Julie tells the world:

To me he seemed like a classic fantasist...And he said he worked closely with investigators. Frankly, I didn’t believe that.

Clearly guilty then.

Meanwhile, under the headline: A Daily Mail reporter's encounter with Madeleine 'suspect', reporter Neil Sears tells us:

He made me feel uncomfortable.

I have to say Daily Mail reporters make me feel 'uncomfortable' but that's not indictable.

Then there's this Mirror headline which clinches it:

Quiz Briton lives with his mum

As I say, it may turn out that the suspect faces charges.

But do you remember the Ipswich murders a few months ago...and how the first 'suspect' had every sordid morsel of his private life trawled over in the media - didn't he turn out to be totally innocent?

I wonder how he's managing to rebuild his life.

Stabbed PCSO recovering...UPDATED

Good news that the PCSO from Derbyshire stabbed in the line of duty is showing signs of recovery following two operations last night.

While today's Sun carries the headline

Karate nut stabs PCSO in neck

the BBC now has an interview with the officer’s wife.

Father of four children, PCSO Gary Etchells, of Glossop (pictured right) who was stabbed in the throat, is still in intensive care, but is now breathing without assistance.

He had been helping a housing organisation serve an eviction notice in Manchester when a man came out of the house and lunged at him with a knife.

I’m a great fan of PCSOs. As a member of our parish council, I campaigned to get our own local PCSO - he now presents a monthly report at public meetings. And I've with other members of Lincolnshire Police Authority to get more PCSOs on the streets as part of our Neighbourhood Policing Teams across the county.

So far there are 7,000 PCSOs across the country, with many more to come. They're a great success.

I believe they are a much-valued addition to the police family and deliver the uniformed visibility needed on our streets.

I'm sure everyone wishes PCSO Gary a speedy and full recovery.

I also hope the courts deal with anyone convicted of wounding a PCSO in exactly the same way as they would if the victim were a fully-trained police officer.

UPDATE: BBC reports that a man has been charged with attempted murder of PCSO Gary Etchells.

Assistant Chief Constable ‘Crusher’ Davies destroys 1,000th illegal vehicle in a year…

Lincolnshire Police have wasted no time using tough new laws which allow them to seize uninsured vehicles.

In just 12 months since the new laws came into force as part of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, Lincolnshire Police have taken 1,500 vehicles off local roads which were either not insured or being driven by someone who was not properly licenced.

And this week, the 1,000th vehicle to be crushed under the new legislation was personally destroyed by Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police Peter Davies.

He worked the machinery to operate the crusher at a scrapyard in Sleaford - and is pictured standing on top of his handiwork!

When a vehicle is seized, the driver or registered keeper is given a fortnight to obtain a valid certificate of insurance or produce a driving licence before they can reclaim the vehicle. They also have to pay the police towing costs and all storage charges…

Then they are prosecuted for having no licence or insurance.

Inspector Les Parker of the Roads Policing Unit said,

"The UK has one of the worst records in Western Europe for uninsured driving with an estimated one in every twenty cars on the road being driven without proper insurance cover.

“This results in every honest motorist in the UK paying £15 - £30 of their insurance premium to compensate the innocent victims of these cheats... and the problem is growing at a dramatic rate".

"Police Officers have always dealt with motorists who are driving without the required documents but have often been powerless to prevent them from continuing to do so as soon as our backs were turned. Now, not only will offenders be prosecuted for the offences but we have the power to remove their vehicles from the road.

"The police treat this offence as a very serious matter and if you are caught then do not expect to be treated sympathetically.

“You will be prosecuted, we will seize your vehicle and, if you want to get it back, you will have to pay all recovery and storage charges and you will have to have obtained insurance. Therefore using a vehicle without insurance simply isn't worth the risk."

I reckon it's a fair cop.