33 people were arrested in the Swindon area over the weekend, it has been revealed.
In a round-up of officers’ antics between 6pm on Friday (8 December) and 6am this morning (Monday), Wiltshire Police said that 294 incident logs were dealt with.
Calls attended by police included reports of domestic assaults, missing people, robbery, blackmail, road traffic incidents and even a the discovery of a grenade – which turned out to be hollow.
A member of the public was praised for providing a person in distress a ‘bear hug’ whilst they stood the wrong side of the railings on a bridge over the A419.
A force spokesperson said: “We would to highlight and commend the actions of a member of the public who saw this person and recognised that they were in distress – effectively putting them in a bear hug and holding them there until officers could arrive.
“This person was taken to hospital where they can receive further support. The selfless and brave actions of the member of the public highlight the intrinsic good in people and demonstrate that just because someone doesn’t know you, it doesn’t mean that they don’t care.”
Officers also carried out searches for a high-risk missing person who had taken an overdose. They were located and taken to hospital for treatment.
In Old Town on Saturday night (9 December), approximately 1,000 people descended on the bars and nightclubs. However, six people were arrested during “a number of disorders”.
The force confirmed that suspects were arrested for offences such as assault, public order, being drunk and disorder in public and assaulting emergency workers. No officers were seriously hurt.
Due to the crowds, a Section 35 order was put in place, given officers the power to exclude a person from an area for a period of up to 48 hours to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.
In total, across the whole borough over the weekend period, 33 people took a trip to custody.
