I often see the police boat going past the flat – occasionally at full speed with lights flashing – but also sometimes I also see a couple of sinister black inflatable boats racing up and down the river.
This morning, one seemed to be playing with the police boat and darting around it much as a kitten plays with a mouse.
Some quite dramatic turns as well.
Looks like lots of fun, although I am sure it is all very serious practising for when they need to do such a thing for real. Bet they enjoy this part of their job though.
One of those has literally just gone past me. They have writing on the side, can you make it out?
A couple of the black police boats were involved in escorting the 2008 Olympic flame as it made a short trip on the Thames. A few photos are on my Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aebrookes/sets/72157604487672056/detail/. Those don’t seem to have any markings.
Correct, they have no markings. The Police occasionally borrow these training units from the Royal Marines for a bit of a spin. They don’t have funding to buy them yet, and probably never will.