It’s a fairground cop: Police officers pictured on dodgems while on duty

A police force has said its officers were only having ‘some fun’ after about 20 of them were pictured riding dodgems at a fairground.

Officers from Humberside Police were on duty at the Hull Fair at the weekend, but took some time out to play on the rides.

Their fun on the dodgems has drawn criticism in some quarters, as the force has regularly complained that it is overstretched and understaffed.

But Deputy Chief Constable Andy McDyer said: ‘On the final day of the 2017 Hull Fair, our officers, who were policing the event, took a five-minute break to have some fun and engage with the fairground organisers by taking to the dodgems.

‘Our officers, PCSOs and volunteer special constables worked long, hard hours during the event, some working nine consecutive 10-hour shifts, and they were able to enjoy a ride before the fair leaves Hull for another year.’

The force sent 40 officers to police the fair over its eight days, and they made four arrests for minor drunkenness.

Inspector Scott Snowden posted a number of tweets from the fair, including images of his colleagues enjoying the dodgems.

He tweeted: ‘Cops having a bit of well earned fun with people at the fair!’

He also wrote: ‘Great fun!’

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Chief Superintendent Darren Downs tweeted a picture of himself riding a dodgem car.

He tweeted: ‘Apparently I look to competitive, but i might as well have put a target on my back. Fantastic afternoon at the fair’.

A number of residents took to Twitter to complain about the officers enjoying themselves.

One tweeted: ‘Please don’t ever complain again of shortage of police.’

Another, Lord Ealing said: ‘I wish that amount of police could be deployed to my area to combat the now crime that won’t be investigated!!’

But others voiced their support.

Matt tweeted: ‘You all do an amazing job under great pressure and need some stress relief.’

And Debbie wrote: ‘You guys deserve two minutes of fun at a quiet time like anyone else. Why not? Keep up the good work.’

Inspector Snowden told the Hull Daily Mail that the reaction from the public was ‘absolutely fantastic’.

He said: ‘The kids have really enjoyed seeing us.

‘We have had a lot of people asking where the armed officers were which is good to see people interested.

‘Everyone has had a really good time and that’s why I was looking forward to the event so much.

‘It’s the best part of policing. You get to meet the public who appreciate that officers are there to look after them.

‘People were coming up to us thanking us which was really touching and very humbling.’

Deputy Chief Constable McDyer said: ‘Throughout the week-long event, where Hull hosts one of the largest travelling fairs in Europe, we have received overwhelming positive feedback from both visitors to the fair and those following us on social media.’

‘We helped create a family-friendly and safe environment for all those attending and this is borne out by the fact that, of the half a million people that attended this year’s event, there were only four arrests.

‘I am incredibly proud of our teams that worked hard to engage with members of the public and ensure that the fair was safe for the people that attended.’