POLICE officers in Alton are preparing to don stab-proof body armour to protect themselves from potential attack.

Hampshire Police is issuing the body armour to all of its officers in the wake of UK-wide tragedies where officers have been injured, at times fatally, in the line of duty.

There are currently not enough sets of body armour for each officer in the county, but during the next four to six weeks every officer will be provided with his, or her, own personal issue body armour, which they will have to wear at all times when out on patrol.

The vests are being provided to all 4,300 police officers and some support staff, such as civilian detention staff and scene of crime officers, at a cost of £1.9 million.

Officers in Alton will be kitted-out with their individual vests over the next two months.

Sergeant Ian Dugdale, station sergeant at Alton Police, said that the new protective measures were "very welcome".

"It is something that has been looked at for a very long time," he said. "It will be mandatory for all front-line officers, and front-line police staff including traffic wardens and detention officers, to wear the vests."

Police special constables will also be provided with the new piece of kit.

The vest is likely to put a lot of officers' minds at rest, as there can be many incidents in the day-to-day life of a policeman where the threat of attack is very real.

"It's the general not knowing," said Sgt Dugdale of the constant possibility of physical harm. "You just don't know who has a knife."

Whether it is "the person at the domestic dispute with access to a load of kitchen knives" or "the person waiting in the side-street", he said "you just don't know what's behind the door".

Sergeant Nick Nickson, of the Longmoor Sector, which covers Whitehill and Petersfield, told The Herald that the vests were not a reflection of particular threats to officers in the county.

"They are worn by a number of forces as a matter of course, for example the West Midlands and the Metropolitan police, and slowly they are being introduced into other forces as a standard piece of equipment," he said.

"I suppose it is just the way the job has evolved. When I first joined up we had a little wooden truncheon and not everybody had handcuffs. What these vests will give us is the best form of protection that we can have.

"As they are going to be personally issued they are going to fit properly because they do come in different sizes. We won't have problems with them being too big or too small.

"I don't think it is anything that people should be concerned about. It is just important that police officers have got the appropriate protection."

Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan revealed the decision to issue the stab-proof vests to all officers in this month's issue of Frontline - Hampshire Constabulary's monthly newspaper.

In his annual review for 2003/04 Mr Kernaghan said: "Shortly, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will start to be patrolled by officers wearing personal issue body armour. The issue of body armour is a reflection of the contemporary threat nationally to patrolling officers and also takes cognisance of the health and safety regime. It does not signify any major increase in the threat locally.

"However, in the light of tragedies elsewhere in the United Kingdom, I think it is appropriate that we all reflect on the commitment, dedication and courage regularly displayed by the men and women of Hampshire Constabulary - regular, special and police staff alike."