Metropolitan Police's Trident launches a gun-crime bus

The minibus will be a place where the public can talk to police

The Metropolitan Police's Trident team has launched a dedicated minibus to respond to gun crime.

The vehicle will be deployed in the wake of shootings and on anniversary appeals.

Officers manning the vehicle will answer questions and address concerns raised by members of the public about gun violence in the black community.

A Met spokesman said the minibus would contain seating and a table so the public can talk in warmth.

Murder appeal

Trident's Det Supt Gary Richardson said: "We hope the vehicle will raise awareness of our work and help provide members of the public with timely information about Trident's activities.

"We want to let people know that we are doing all we can to tackle gun crime and the fear of gun crime within the capital.

"We hope this will provide us with another opportunity for the police and the community to work together in partnership in preventing, detecting and combating gun-related criminality."

The bus will next be deployed in Brixton, south London, on Monday as part of an appeal for information about the murder two years ago of 19-year-old Nicholas Clarke.

The teenager was shot on the evening of 14 March on the Myatts Field Estate in Brixton.