Overview
- A marked police car collided with another vehicle and broke through the pier railings on Tuesday, leaving its front end hanging over the water and prompting an immediate emergency response.
- Fire crews from Ryde and Shanklin worked with ambulance and coastguard teams to cut two people free from the vehicle and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said no injuries were reported.
- The force confirmed the police car was en route to an indecent-exposure report in Newport and a 29-year-old man from Ryde has been arrested on suspicion of exposure and remains in custody.
- Specialist recovery teams secured and winched the damaged police car back onto the pier later in the afternoon, allowing Ryde Pier to reopen with single-file traffic and Wightlink to resume FastCat sailings.
- The incident highlighted the structural and rescue challenges of incidents on the low-speed, vehicle-access Ryde Pier and police enquiries into the cause of the collision are ongoing.