It drums up scenes from an old Keystone Cops movie — police forces operating more than 1,500 cars that should have been consigned to the scrapyard years ago after they clocked up more than 10 years. It has resulted in claims that government ministers are failing to give officers the resources they need.
A Freedom of Information Act requests revealed that there were five forces with cars more than 20 years old: one vehicle even dates back to 1986. The figures, from 28 police forces in England, Wales and Scotland were uncovered by the Liberal Democrats.
The party’s home affairs spokesman, Alistair Carmichael, said: “People would be shocked to learn that the police still own a vehicle from 1986. When the car was first registered, Lionel Messi hadn’t been born, the Pet Shop Boys were topping the charts, and Google was still a decade away from invention. How can a car past its prime be reliable in an emergency?”
