Local Crewe Officer geared up for the Olympics

Cheshire Constabulary′s contribution to the Olympics moves into its next stage as staff support host forces which include Metropolitan Police Service, Dorset Police and British Transport Police. Constable Anthony Hayhurst, 35 from Crewe, who has been selected for deployment to the Olympics, can usually be found policing and investigating road traffic collisions within the Crewe area. Within his role, Tony is also a Family Liaison Officer and works closely with families whose loved ones have been involved in traffic collisions, supporting them through the police investigation and any subsequent court proceedings.

Tony was selected for the Olympics late last year and having already policed in Manchester, he is fully aware of the challenges that city policing brings. A good geographical knowledge of London will be key to his role supporting British Transport Police in working on the underground and main rail lines into London and so Tony has been "memorising as much of the Tube and rail maps as possible, making it easier to give directions to the general public."

Both the Olympics and Paralympics events will present the UK Police Service with the largest peacetime security and policing operation it has ever faced but Tony is looking forward to this "once in a lifetime opportunity to police London and be part of policing one of the biggest sporting events that the UK has ever seen."

Having policed the Olympic Torch Relay in Crewe and Warrington at the end of May, he was pleasantly surprised to see such a large turn out to see the Torch. "The relay passed through Crewe at about 8am, and Nantwich Road was packed with members of the public, with crowds about 15 people deep. The atmosphere was fantastic."

He has accumulated some considerable experience in his policing career over the years, having worked at big sporting events, which include large football matches at Manchester City and United grounds, and at events connected with the Commonwealth Games held in Manchester in 2002. Tony has also policed at large scale operations such as RAF Fairfield in Gloucestershire during the Iraq War.

With long shifts scheduled as part of his policing duties, he will be on foot patrol in and around London, and will be working with an officer from British Transport Police. "I will be dealing with all sorts of different policing incidents, and am sure that some of those incidents may be quite challenging and in unfamiliar surroundings." Cheshire Constabulary is supporting the national policing effort for the Olympic Games and is committed to maintaining its current policing standards, here in Cheshire.

Tony will be blogging his activities from London to the general public and there will be an opportunity to follow blog posts from officers supporting the Olympic Games and those providing policing cover in Cheshire. All blog diaries can be followed from 27th July to 13th August from the police website or post your comments at twitter.com/cheshirepolice and facebook.com/cheshirepolice. We are also running Olympic themed competitions on cheshire.police.uk and upbeat.uk.com over the next few weeks, with the final Bronze Prize starting on 6 August 2012.