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Metropolitan Police officers across west London are to try out spit guards after a recent trial deemed them a “proportionate and necessary” piece of equipment to protect them from assault.

Following a successful pilot in a number of north east London custody suites, the trial is to be rolled out across all custody suites in the capital.

A spokesperson for Met Police said the trial revealed the spit guards to be an “effective” way of dealing with the “real problem” of spitting and biting.

They said: “The pilot suggested that spit guards are an effective, proportionate and necessary piece of equipment when deployed correctly and with appropriate supervision.

“The Met has a duty of care to its officers and staff – the issue of spitting and biting is a real problem and a particularly unpleasant form of assault which rightly generates a lot of concern amongst officers.

“Aside from the fact that, as an employer, the Met cannot expect its staff to be spat at, or think it is acceptable, some follow-up treatment required after such an assault can be prolonged and unpleasant.”

As the initial trail in north east London was limited in time and scale, Met Police's Commissioner and the Mayor of London both agreed to extend it across the capital.

The plan was also discussed with partner organisations, community representatives and independent groups, as well as magistrates.

The announcement comes after years of experimenting by the Met, who have been looking at different equipment which could minimise the threat to their officers and staff.

Spit guards, a nationally approved piece of equipment, is currently used by 22 forces across the UK and officers must be trained in order to use it.

The pilot was carried out at five custody bases: Forest Gate's base, Redbridge's base, Fresh Wharf's base, Leyton's base and Havering's base.