Officer down! Sailors rush to the rescue after policeman collapses while on duty for Queen’s funeral in London
- Officer was pictured being attended to by police colleagues and Navy personnel
- He was then carried away on a stretcher from the scene in central London
- Comes just days after guard fainted off podium while holding vigil next to coffin
- The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage
A police officer was carried away on a stretcher during the Queen’s funeral today after collapsing while on duty.
The officer was pictured laying on the ground in central London this morning, being attended to by police colleagues and Royal Navy personnel.
He was then carried away from the scene on a stretcher.
It comes just days after a guard fainted off the podium while holding vigil next to the Queen’s Coffin in the Palace of Westminster.
A police officer was carried away on a stretcher during the Queen’s funeral today after collapsing while on duty
The officer was pictured laying on the ground, being attended to by colleagues following the incident earlier this morning
Onlookers who had queued for hours to pay their final respects to the monarch were aghast when a guard began swaying on his feet moments before he collapsed.
The man had moments earlier briefly stepped off the podium before retaking his place as other servicemen joined him for a changeover.
But seconds later he blacked out and fell forwards, landing sprawled on the stone floor to loud gasps from bystanders queueing to pay their respects.
The live stream also cut out for several minutes as police rushed to the man’s aid.
Today’s funeral service has been described as the ‘biggest security operation in British history’, with at least 10,000 police officers and 1,500 soldiers forming a six-mile wide ring of steel around central London.
Many roads and bridges have been shut to traffic and 23-miles of barriers put up to control crowds and keep key areas secure, with police with sniffer dogs on duty to check people passing by.
Around Westminster Abbey, specialist firearms officers have been drafted in while spotters with binoculars took up positions on the rooftops of government buildings.
There is particularly heavy security around the Royal Hospital Chelsea, with an outer cordon of concrete blocks set up by police at 6am, blocking off all roads up to 600 yards away.
Two rows of bollards were stretched across the road, along with a line of portable anti-terror barricades designed to be capable of stopping a bomb-laden truck.
This morning there was a minor embarrassment when the official state car for Qatar was stopped for more than 30 minutes at the barricade after an apparent mix-up.
The moment the guard fell forward onto the stone floor as police officers quickly rush to his aid this evening
Two police officers quickly rushed to help the man as the remaining guards continued to hold vigil next to the coffin
Meanwhile, by Windsor Castle, police spotters scanned the crowds from temporary towers set up along the Long Walk.
The Met’s DAC Stuart Cundy, the man in charge of the operation in the capital, said the force would use ‘all tools and tactics available’ to protect the Queen’s coffin, the Royal Family, hundreds of VIPs and world leaders and the 1million people expected to head to the capital to mourn.
The senior officer told reporters the ‘hugely complex’ policing operation is the biggest in the force’s history, surpassing the London 2012 Olympics which saw up to 10,000 police officers on duty per day.
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