This article appeared on the Electronic Telegraph on 2 January, 1999.
Cornwall may be closed for eclipse to prevent chaos
By Sean O'Neill
POLICE may close Cornwall if it is overrun by visitors during the total solar eclipse this summer.
John Evans, Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, fears that traffic gridlock caused by up to 2 million extra visitors could hamper the work of the emergency services. He also believes that the county's infrastructure, particularly water supplies, will be under massive strain.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Evans, 55, said that if visitor numbers proved overwhelming for the August event there could be a staged operation beginning on the M5 in Somerset to turn people away. Mr Evans said: "The great limiter on numbers will be the water supply. The absolute top limit is two million. Quite how we will stop it at that is not decided.
"Whether we say Cornwall is closed and you cannot proceed or whether we set up road checks and say, 'Unless you are ready and provisioned to take three days to get there, there is no point in going' - I am not yet sure."
The chief constable has asked the Home Secretary for an extra £3.6 million to manage the eclipse and the Millennium. There will be heavy spending on police hours - all leave in the force has already been cancelled for eclipse week. Extra helicopters and motorcycles will be needed to avoid the jammed roads and military support will have to be paid for.
In 1983, as assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester, Mr Evans organised the policing of the Pope's visit with 8,000 officers and stewards. To cope with the eclipse he has only 3,000 officers, 1,200 special constables and 1,500 civilian support staff. For a force already stretched by two murder inquiries - the linked killings of the schoolgirl Kate Bushell and the housewife Lynda Bryant - the eclipse is a serious headache.
Jack Straw has so far refused the request for additional funds. But Mr Evans said: "I have made the Home Office aware of the difficulties and am seeking to make a special case for the eclipse. It is not just a normal contingency, it is a national issue and an exceptional occasion.
"The eclipse is part of the National Curriculum, the profile is being raised in the media, it is going to be the biggest event of the year and it will cost us a lot of money. If I don't get the money, I will still have to police it and other things will not get done."
Local MPs and councils support the police case. Matthew Taylor, Liberal Democrat MP for Truro, says the Government's approach - that it will provide support in an emergency - is ridiculous. He said: "The Government does not understand or care about the scale of the problem. With police, fire, ambulance, roads and water services all at breaking point, public health and safety is at risk."
