Traffic cones to be fitted with flashing lights in Edinburgh to protect police

An officer lost a leg after being hit in June

THOUSANDS of traffic cones are to be fitted with flashing blue lights to protect traffic cops while they investigate smashes across the Lothians.

Police chiefs hope the £106,000 roll-out will alert drivers to a crash and prevent them from ploughing into officers, paramedics and casualties.

An officer had his leg amputated last June after being run over by a car while at the scene of a minor collision.

Inspector Andrew Thomson from Police Scotland's Road Policing Unit said: "The safety of all road users including members of the emergency services when dealing incidents is of paramount importance to Police Scotland.

"Officers currently deploy signs and cones to highlight sections of roadway which are closed and the addition of cone mounted blue lights adds significantly to these safety measures.

"Police are called to a variety of different locations to attend incidents which can find officers working in areas of darkness or reduced lighting therefore the additional of blue lights to cones assists in focussing the attention of road users to an incident.‎"

Police chiefs have bought more than 5,500 blue warning lights to be fitted to cones - with replacement through wear and tear also budgeted.

PC Phil Hedge-Holmes, 45, lost his leg after being hit by a Vauxhall Corsa as he and a colleague dealt with the aftermath of a smash in Glasgow last June.

Representatives of the Scottish Police Federation have been lobbying for greater safety measures and welcomed the move to fit cones with lights.

Stephen Clark, chair of the SPF east area committee, said: “Cones are very important in terms of helping to keep police officers and members of the public safe at the scene of road accidents.”

The lights are fitted to a metal pole which slides into the top of the cone with the blue light sitting on top and flashing a warning to drivers of the danger ahead.

“The importance of these blue lights cannot be underestimated and play an important part of Police Scotland’s vehicle equipment list,” aded Mr Clark.

“They greatly reduce the chances of a secondary accident which can have tragic consequences for police officers who are on the scene, working to make the roadway safe.

“The Scottish Police Federation have been actively involved in a call for the force to ensure that all its vehicles are properly equipped with all of the necessary and essential safety equipment.

“It is heartening to see that our concerns are being listened to and that lights are at the forefront of Police Scotland’s mind.”