Fire-hose laying vehicle made by Locomotors

From the Mitcham News & Mercury, 10th June 1971, page 6

A new hose-laying vehicle, specially designed for use on rough ground, has recently been built for the London Fire Brigade by Locomotors Ltd, the specialist bodybuilders of Mitcham, which is part of the Ranks Hovis McDougall group.

Built on a Ford D800 chassis with a Vickers 4-wheel drive conversion, the vehicle can lay up to 6000 feet of 3 1/2 inch hose at up to 25 miles per hour over rough terrain. it is based at the London Fire Brigade Hayes, Middlesex station, where it forms an important part of the back-up service for the British Airports Authority fire fighting unit at Heathrow Airport- dealing with situations where a water supply is remote from the scene of a possible fire emergency. The vehicle is, in fact, on call for any emergency where this is the case. In common with other selected London Fire Brigade appliances, it also carries special London Transport jacking equipment for dealing with bus accidents.

The 22 foot integral cab and body unit is constructed from steel and timber framing with aluminium alloy panelling.