South Yorkshire Police Series III Riot Van

History

In the late 1970s South Yorkshire Police, like several English forces, ran Series III Land Rover hard tops as public-order vans: tough, simple vehicles that could carry a serial of officers and their shields and take a stoning. YYX 315T, registered in 1978, carries the classic fittings — a hinged mesh guard over the windscreen, blue lamps beside the grille, a spot lamp on the bonnet and POLICE on the hard-top sides — in the force's dark navy. It is preserved by the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield, where ukemergency.co.uk photographed it displayed with a riot-equipped officer, a reminder of the force's role in the 1984–85 miners' strike.

The registry's model is a Series III 109 hard top in navy with the screen mesh, grille blues, bonnet lamp, POLICE lettering, black wheels and plates; in the game it carries the blue-light boost.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (Series III 109-inch hard top)

Manufactured

T registration

Modifier / coachbuilder

South Yorkshire Police workshops (public-order fit)

Engine type

Rover 2.25 L four-cylinder petrol

Production run

Production variant; count unknown

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Operated in

United Kingdom

Status

preserved

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series III

Wheels

4

Nominal wheelbase

109″

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• Search: Land Rover Series police ↗ — UK Emergency Vehicles (accessed 2026-09-11)

Catalogue references

• https://www.ukemergency.co.uk/?s=Land+Rover+Series+police https://www.ukemergency.co.uk/?s=Land+Rover+Series+police ↗