Annual leave for police in West Yorkshire has been restricted to ensure the safe running of the Tour de France when it passes through the county.
The Grand Depart zooms through the region in early July and three Yorkshire forces – West, North and South – will be involved in policing it. All of them are restricting annual leave during the event.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said leave was not being cancelled but leave applications would be looked at to make sure there was staffing capacity to properly manage the event.
Chief Superintendent Barry South said: “The staging of the Yorkshire Grand Depart is a great honour and is already generating considerable interest and excitement throughout Yorkshire and beyond. We are therefore expecting it to be a very large-scale public event and we are working closely with local authorities and other partners including TDF hub 2014 to ensure all appropriate resources are in place. ”
Nick Smart, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “We understand why the force has had to restrict leave. It is a major worldwide sporting event and it impacts massively on the force over a number of days.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article