Lancashire Constabulary has invested in Truckman hardtops for its fleet of Ford Ranger pick ups.

The police force recently purchased four Ford Ranger pick-ups as specialist vehicles for designated officers to improve their access to rural areas.

Utilising Truckman’s RS hardtop has proved significant in adapting the Rangers for the safe transportation and storage of important equipment.

Lorraine Ellwood, rural and wildlife crime coordinator at Lancashire Constabulary, said: “The addition of the Ford Rangers has made a great difference in the way the Constabulary works, and we have experienced further improvement in access to rural areas since using Truckman’s hardtops. The unpredictable nature of our work makes it essential that we have secure and reliable vehicles which can be used in all weather conditions, and that is exactly what the Ford Rangers and the hardtops have provided.”

The Truckman RS hardtop is a popular option with the blue light and rescue services because it is very robust and tough, it features a wipe clean interior and solid sides for extra safety in storing and transporting equipment. The security aspect of the RS hardtop is a particularly important feature for the Lancashire Constabulary, which stores various apparatus in the truck bed including forensic suits, evidence recovery bags and specialist equipment for handling livestock and wildlife.

Primarily, the Rangers are used as response vehicles by officers trained to deal with wildlife and rural crime.

The enclosed load space provided by the hardtop has been particularly useful in the execution of a recent search warrant to easily recover and transport stolen generators and various tools.

The Constabulary has also adapted the hardtop with the addition of blue emergency lights, side marker lights and its ‘Working with Communities’ logo, which is displayed on the hardtop’s solid sides.