A MUSEUM devoted to the history of policing has been revamped and will allow visitors to experience a Victorian jail cell.

Cheshire Police has taken a step back in time and it is all down to the efforts of former police officer, Peter Wroe.

Peter has created a Victorian Museum at Warrington Police Station – the only Victorian Police Station in Cheshire – and members of the public are now being invited to take a tour around and sample what life would really have been like during this era.

He said: “This really is something special and something totally unique. We are sure all of the visitors will find it a fascinating and enlightening experience.”

“I would just want to say to everyone: ensure you are on your very best behaviour, as there may just be a Victorian police officer lurking behind that lamp-post on the corner – or somewhere else.”

Visitors to the Arpley Street museum go in through a Tardis-style entrance which immediately transports you back in time to a Victorian street.

The new entrance was built by students and staff from Warrington Collegiate and designed by Cheshire Police – and was made possible thanks to a £37,000 grant from the landfill community fund, Biffaward and Wren.

Visitors have the opportunity to walk along a huge corridor which runs the full length of the building and was once called the ‘Palace of Justice’.

From here visitors are taken into the original female Victorian cell block where there is a host of other exhibits, together with the notorious Victorian cells.

The main museum is full of artefacts, paintings and photographs dating back to the Victorian era.

The Museum Policing in Cheshire is a registered charity and has used the grant towards up-grading current facilities in order to open the museum up to the wider public. The work has also included new toilets, the installation of disabled ramps and repairs to the floors and ceilings.

Cath Hare from Biffaward said: “It is vitally important that communities have links with their cultural identity and heritage, and that is why Biffaward is happy to support projects like the Museum of Policing.”

Further details are available from www.museumofpolicingincheshire.org.uk or email Museum@cheshire.pnn.police.uk