£70k to police Highland Show

POLICING at this year’s Royal Highland Show at Ingliston cost nearly £70,000, new figures have shown.

A total of 183 officers were on duty at the show between June 20 and 24, with the total policing bill hitting £69,241.

The policing costs for last year’s show was £55,895, when 183 officers were involved. The bill in 2009 was £44,335.

Organisers at this year’s event had been hoping to attract more than 180,000 people for the third year in a row. But torrential rain at the site drove down attendance with estimates of the number of visitors put at around 150,000.

The Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) held the first show in 1822.

The showground area extends to 100 acres and there is a further 150 acres for parking up to 25,000 vehicles.