In 1967/8 the Panda arrived in the police service and all over the country we saw forces experimenting with small saloon cars designated for this role. There were Minis, Anglias, Escorts, A40s and others, but one of the rarest was the Triumph Herald. The Herald was a small family car introduced in 1959, the same year that gave us the revolutionary Mini and the 105E Ford Anglia. All were excellent cars and all three proved hugely popular with the public, but the Triumph failed to find favour with police forces. You could probably count on one hand the numbers of forces that ran them.

One of the few to use Triumph Heralds for patrol duties was Barrow-in-Furness Borough, and below is a photo of a line of them on the day of their collection from a local dealer. These 1200 Saloons were produced between 1961 and 1971. The cars are decked out in Panda livery with typically large top boxes, and presumably were bought for the early days of Unit Beat Policing, some eight or nine years after the introduction of the model.

It's difficult to see why the Herald didn't share the policing popularity of the Mini and Anglia, although price may have been an issue along with reliability and some road-handling concerns, but it was one of the better small saloons of its time. Not long after this, the force was amalgamated and the Heralds went on to serve Lancashire Constabulary for a few years.

These small Triumphs, along with their sporty cousin, the Spitfire, are now popular in the classic car world, but I wonder if any of the survivors can trace their history back to a police force? It would be good to think that maybe just one of these Herald Pandas still exists.