A SPIKED 'anti-garrotting' collar and a division chamber pot are among the weird and wonderful police exhibits being shown to the public for the first time in 180 years.
Last month the Metropolitan Police took its historical artefacts out of a dark warehouse to create the Met Collection in Old Brompton Road, West Brompton.
Investigating the history of the 'peelers', from its creation by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel in 1829 to modern-day forensic analysis, the heritage centre is an often unusual cross-section of the unique history of London's policemen.
Among the objects on display are a selection of rattles - the predecessors of whistles - a riding crop used by a commissioner whose arm had been eaten by a tiger, and a homing pigeon.
It is the first time that the collection has been aired, other than in an 'appointment only' room above Bow Street police station 40 years ago.
Head of income generation, Anna Gardiner, explained: "There's long been a desire to have a facility to show these objects off. No one seems to think about where our organisation comes from. To look at the history of London you just have to look at the Met."
And times have changed since the force was created in 1829.
"London was a pretty lawless place then," explained Ms Gardiner, standing beside a cabinet filled with decorated truncheons and leather collars.
"The police replaced night watchmen and were nicknamed the 'blue devils'. They had to wear collars to protect them from being strangled. The more well off you were, the better your collar."
And that's just the beginning. The range of technological oddities packed into the small exhibition room is astounding.
From decorated truncheons to a 19th Century camera and a blue police phone box, it is clear the Met has changed with the times.
A glorious black and white division chamber pot is a reminder of conventions which perhaps should not be repeated. The opening of the £140,000 room has also been a welcome addition to police in Earl's Court and Fulham. Munster ward Sergeant Dave Turtle, who was taking a look at the exhibition with Fulham Mayor Councillor Alex Karmel on Thursday, said: "It really gives the public an insight into the issues police officers over the years faced, and continue to face."
The museum, opposite West Brompton Tube Station, is open from 10am-4pm on weekdays. Entry is free.
