MORE than 200 Gwent Police officers have been working at the Olympics in recent weeks.

As with forces across England and Wales, officers from Gwent have contributed officers to carry out a range of police work, both on and off Olympic sites.

Over the six weeks before and during the games, Gwent will have sent 209 officers to London and other Olympic venues. There is a maximum of 40 officers deployed at any one time and some have gone more than once.

As well as officers on-site in Stratford, others have been at venues at Eton Dorney and Greenwich, as well as others working around the capital.

Gwent knew its commitment at the beginning of the year and restrictions on annual leave have been in place to make sure there are enough officers back in Gwent to cover the shortfall.

Officers have been deployed for anything from five days to seven weeks and are staying in university halls of residence around London.

Members of the dog unit, armed response unit and searched trained officers have all been sent and police have been carrying out roles from patrolling the Olympic Park to searching and clearing venues before events and working on intelligence prior to the games.

There are around 30 officers on Olympic duty at the moment and Gwent will also contribute to policing at the Paralympics Chief Inspector Dan Taylor, who has been co-ordinating officers going to the Olympics, said the experience of working on such a large-scale event is invaluable for the officers and they have been able to discuss ideas and methods with police from around the country.