FIVE TV crews descended on Devizes Market Place on Tuesday afternoon as Wiltshire Constabulary showed off the new-style helmets that all their officers could be wearing before long.

Wiltshire is one of three forces nationally that are trying out the new unisex headgear, designed to be more secure, safer and more comfortable.

But the huge amount of national interest in the new helmet caught staff at police headquarters in London Road by surprise.

Jacqui Broadbridge, senior media officer in the force press office, said: "The helmets only arrived on Monday and haven't yet been distributed to the officers. The reason five TV crews descended on Devizes was because the trial "news" was put out centrally, not by us, and they wanted to break the news there and then, as is their style.

"We literally had to take the new hats out of their boxes and I had to find three models from HQ to facilitate the filming in the town."

Local people interviewed about the new helmets, based on the design of riding hats and designed to be worn by both male and female officers, were not overly impressed with them, but the 'models' enjoyed wearing them.

One said: "They are actually quite comfortable. There is no chinstrap but there is a kind of strap at the back which keeps the hat on more securely than the old-fashioned helmet. I could get used to these quite quickly."

The new helmets, 6.25cm shorter than the old ones, are made from lightweight plastic instead of the old cork design. They are designed to help provide better protection from head injuries and to stay on better when the wearer is running.

Barry Taylor, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the new design was part of the development of a new nationwide uniform.

Thirty officers will be wearing the new helmets on patrol for the next three months, as are policemen and women in the Dyfed-Powys force in Wales and Greater Manchester.