This article appeared in the Cornish Guardian, Jan. 7.
Police Could Turn People Away From County
Police might be forced to close Cornwall during the eclipse if visitor numbers become too excessive.
Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, John Evans, has warned that an operation to turn people away could be set up on the M5 in Somerset if police believed Cornwall was unable to cope with the influx.
Chief concerns include the strain on the water supply, which Mr Evans believes will withstand, at most, two million extra users. It is also feared that the emergency services will be under immense pressure.
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."
But eclipse co-ordinator Gage Williams said such action would be used as a "last resort" and would most likely not be necessary. "I think all this talk about long jams is exaggerated. Of course, it is always sensible to take provisions with you, but hopefully the traffic will be self-regulating.
"We will have the use of Traffic Masters, which will give accurate information about the length of journeys, fed back through the BBC and Teletext. The region also has a good network of country lanes, and if people know traffic is moving slowly they will explore these. It"s only for a short period. It's what people do every August Bank Holiday, and I don"t think it will be much different."
The chief constable is seeking an extra £3.6m to police the eclipse and the millennium. His request has so far been refused by Home Secretary Jack Straw.
All annual leave for the force has been cancelled during that week, meaning around 3,000 officers will be available to police the region, supported by 1,200 special constables and 1,500 civilian staff. Extra helicopters, motorbikes and military support are also expected to be called in.
Mr Evans warned that if the region did not get extra funding, the rest of the police work would suffer. "It is not just a normal contingency, it is a national issue and an exceptional occasion," he said. "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."
