PRESSNEWS-GR

With its bright colours and chunky wheels, it looks like a motorbike from a giant Lego kit.

In fact, the T3 Motion could be the future of law enforcement.

The electric scooter, which has a top speed of 25mph, is designed to be cheap to use, to be friendly to the environment and, with a 9in-high raised platform, to provide a great vantage point for policing crowds.

Cop a load of that: Sergeant Paul Masterson tries out the T3 Motion at the South of England Show

A model with police-style blue and yellow livery (and limited to 5mph) was loaned to Sussex Police to use at the South of England Show, a three-day agricultural show in Ardingly, near Haywards Heath, which runs until tomorrow.

Sergeant Paul Marsterson said the experiment had been a success - though hampered by the sheer novelty of the vehicle.

'We tried to do a tour of the arena. However, people were so interested in it, it took us 45 minutes to get a couple of hundred metres,' he said.

'The chief constable [Martin Richards] has had a go and I mentioned to him it is perfect for Gatwick airport, both indoors and outdoors.

'It gives high visibility and it's great to be able to talk to people you might not always be able to.'

The £5,000 trike is designed by a Californian firm and has been adopted by a number of police forces in the U.S.

Three-wheeling: Sergeant Masterson stops to chat on the phone as he trials the T3

It uses changeable power modules, costs a few pence a day to run and produces zero gas emissions.

Although Sgt Masterson's trike was not equipped for use on the roads, it was fitted with headlights, brakelights, running lights and emergency lights.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: 'There was a road safety area at the show and the theme this year is Then And Now, so there were old police cars and other emergency services vehicles right the way through to the present.

'The trike was an example of what we could potentially have in the future.'

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