This is why Portsmouth police cars had their blue lights switched on last night

Led by the police’s own musicians, The British Police Symphony Orchestra (BPSO) held a musical collaboration to celebrate the the contribution of the country’s ‘blue light emergency teams’.

On Saturday evening (October 24), police forces from across the country were asked to ‘flash their lights’ to a backdrop of the BPSO performing Rick Wakeman’s composition, Dance of a Thousand Lights.

Joining the show of national support were the officers of Portsmouth Police who tweeted: ‘Hampshire Constabulary's Portsmouth Roads Policing Team joined all emergency services and the British Police Symphony Orchestra to show their support for team999.

‘All emergency services throughout the country celebrated today at 5:45 pm with their blue lights on.’

The city’s police officers were pictured standing beside their vehicles as the blue lights illuminated the late evening sky.

The musical composition was created by 300 performers ‘from the wider police family’ who recorded their individual components in isolation during lockdown. An accompanying video was also created in recognition of the role carried out by the police, fire and ambulance services to keep people safe during the Covid pandemic.

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It’s hoped the project will also lead to donations to raise money for the The Blue Lamp Foundation. The charity was set up in honour of PC David Rathband who was left blind after being shot by the infamous gunman, Raoul Moat. David sadly died in 2012 but the charity now looks to provide support to emergency workers who have suffered mental and physical injuries while on duty.

Chairman of the charity, Peter Sweeney, said: ‘We are humbled by the work that has been put in by the BPSO to get this project up and running and the commitment to support our work, as crucial today as it was a decade ago, but even more difficult in the current crisis.’

Donations to support the charity can be made via the BPSO website.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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