London

London’s Police Have a New Weapon for Stopping Suicide Truck Attacks

By Rachel Lewis
BRITAIN-SPAIN-ATTACK
A Union flag flies at half-mast from the roof of a building, in front of a face of the Great Clock of the Palace of Westminster's Elizabeth Tower, more commonly referred to as Big Ben, in London on August 18, 2017, following the August 17 attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils in Spain. Spanish police on Friday hunted for the driver who rammed a van into pedestrians on an avenue crowded with tourists in Barcelona, leaving 13 people dead and more than 100 injured, just hours before a second assault in a resort along the coast. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga AKMEN (Photo credit should read TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images)
Tolga Akmen - Getty Images

London’s police have unveiled a spiked net that is designed to halt the rampage of vehicles being used in terrorist attacks.

Police announced on Sunday that the net uses tungsten steel spikes to pierce the vehicle’s tyres and is then designed to get entangled in its wheels.

Police added that the net takes less than one minute to deploy and can stop and trap a vehicle that weighs up to 17-tons. It has already been used in Central London to protect a parade of Royal Navy personnel.

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said: “The system is also designed to ensure that the vehicle skids in a straight line, significantly reducing risk to crowds and producing a well controlled stop after which officers can engage with the driver.

“When the equipment is deployed, signs are placed in front and behind the net site advising both road users and pedestrians that there are spikes on the road and to follow instructions provided by officers.”

The new defense is a response to a string of terror attacks across the European continent that involved terrorists ramming pedestrians with cars, trucks and vans. Barcelona, London, Stockholm and Nice have all been subject to such attacks.