NORTH Yorkshire Police have unveiled their rainbow-wrapped police van which will form part of the York Pride parade today.

The van, painted with the colours of the rainbow flag, is a fully-operational police vehicle which will attend incidents, but will also be used by neighbourhood policing teams for local engagement events.

Decked with the Policing with Pride logo, the van also carries messages around hate crime reporting.

Speaking about the launch of the vehicle, Temporary Chief Constable Lisa Winward said: “North Yorkshire Police is an inclusive organisation and we are here to protect and represent everyone, irrespective of their sexuality, gender, race, religion or disability.

“By having the van out and about on the road, wrapped in the Pride flag colours, everyone can see our commitment to stopping the victimisation of LGBT people and raising awareness of hate crime reporting.”

Julia Mulligan, PCC for North Yorkshire, said: “I am very proud to support the Pride event, and I hope it goes some way to reassure our LGBT+ communities that policing is alive to their concerns regarding hate crime and other issues.”