Anti-terror unit in city; Sniffer dogs used to sweep station platforms and check travellers.Byline: Lisa Hutchinson THOUSANDS of travellers were faced with a counter terrorism squad as they arrived at Newcastle Central Station yesterday afternoon. Officers and their with sniffer dogs flooded the platforms in an exercise that was designed to reassure the public. Nine officers with the London-based Counter Terrorism Unit teamed up with Newcastle's Transport Police to stop and search travellers coming in and out of the city. Their arrival was part of Operation Pegasus Operation Pegasus was an Allied action in World War II as a consequence of the failure of Operation Market Garden. Some surviving soldiers from the 1st Airborne Division had avoided capture and sought shelter in the forests to the west around Ede. , which started at the beginning of the year to prevent terrorist activity on the country's railways. The move follows the July 7 London bombings in 2005, a series of coordinated attacks on the capital's public transport system during the morning rush hour, that killed 56 people, including the bombers. About 700 civilians were injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. . Yesterday's unit was joined by five highly trained sniffer dogs to detect explosives. Springer springer a North American term commonly used to describe heifers close to term with their first calf. spaniels and Labradors called Raphie, Ross, Max, Taff and Charlie, were a hit with commuters. Officer in charge, Sgt Bill Pearson, with the Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "This is a routine counter terrorism operation to reassure the general public and to prevent and detect any terrorist activity on the railway system. "We are travelling the country visiting different railway stations The following is a list of railway stations (also called train stations) that is indexed by country. :Further information: List of IATA-indexed train stations Africa Morocco
The move pleased travellers and workers at the station. Patricia Pratt, 63, from Darlington, said: "I have come to Newcastle to shop and saw the police activity. It is reassuring that they are here doing this." Joan Peskett, 58, of London, said: "It is good to know that the police are being proactive." Lee Goule, 39, the station's taxi rank taxi rank Noun a place where taxis wait to be hired Noun 1. taxi rank - a place where taxis park while awaiting customers; "in England the place where taxis wait to be hired is called a `taxi rank'" supervisor who works for City Cabs, said: "The police team arrived with the sniffer dogs and were routinely stopping people. It is reassuring that they are carrying out operations like this, especially as Christmas approaches when the stations are extra busy." CAPTION(S): ON PATROL Sgt Bill Pearson and police dog Raphie looking for explosives at Newcastle Central Station. |
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