Officer praises colleagues after spate of collisions

Emergency services stretched to limit

A police officer has praised his colleagues and Island emergency service staff, after a spate of road collisions in a short period of time yesterday (Wednesday).

Police, ambulance and fire services were called to five separate road traffic collisions in and around the Douglas area in the space of 40 minutes.

Two incidents involved three vehicles each, two more involved two vehicles each and the fifth between a vehicle and a cyclist.

Sergeant Barry Hand wrote a short statement on the constabulary's media page about the afternoon's exceptional circumstances.

He stressed all emergency services were stretched "to the absolute limit to deal with each incident simultaneously".

Sergeant Hand added after an hour and a half all roads we reopened and cleared and anyone injured had been taken to hospital.

He said he sometimes takes for granted the work the emergency services do and this situation proved how brilliant they all work under pressure to keep the Island safe.