Even before the days of Response Units, the task of attending serious incidents was done by officers of the Traffic Department. The main reason was their vehicles were equipped with county-wide VHF radios enabling them to communicate directly with The Force Control Room at Force Headquarters, Sherwood Lodge.

So it was on a day in November when the rains were so bad that the Trent began to burst its banks. Pc "Hungry Mick" Haslam from Nottingham Traffic Wing was sent to Gunthorpe Bridge to have a look at the situation.
"I found the waters gradually lapping up to a point where they were about to flood the entire village of Gunthorpe. Despite a request for sand bags to urgently be sent to stop the approaching deluge there were none available and I could only watch and advise the locals as the waters rose, eventually flooding the whole area and the Public House."