 The force revealed the tuk-tuks had cost £39,744, with each vehicle costing £9,936. They have been paid for through funding from the Home Office. Officers claimed the response in the community to the tuk-tuks or rickshaws had been 'overwhelmingly positive', but the news has been met with some derision online. One person commented: "If they are brave enough to drive one of these around certain parts of Newport, it'll be burnt out and thrown in the Usk within the first week." Another said: "Surely this is a late April Fools joke - why use a smokey old slow tuk-tuk, when there are infinitely better and clean electric vehicles they could use for patrolling parks, etc.?" Chief Inspector Damian Sowrey said: "They were on show at our Behind the Badge day, giving local residents the opportunity to see them up close and to hear more about how they will be used. "The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with parents telling officers that they would feel sa){kind=link}
The towns of Newport and Abergavenny in Wales will be the first to see the rickshaws used for police purposes in the UK, and will be driven by officers and ambassadors day and night
A UK police force has spent almost £40,000 on four crime-fighting tuk-tuks.
Gwent Police is rolling out the vehicles, which they said would patrol parks, walkways and other public spaces, in two Welsh towns.
Tuk-tuks are more commonly known for providing taxi services in some Asian countries, such as Thailand and India.
But the towns of Newport and Abergavenny in Wales will be the first to see the rickshaws used for police purposes in the UK.