CHRIS Payne’s letter (Oxford Mail, January 20), concerning the antics of the police officers carpeted for using their shields as sledges in a light-hearted break during the recent snow, reminded me that such games by officers with a bit of time on their hands are nothing new.

As Pcs on night duty in Abingdon, during the 90s, we soon noticed that one of the companies with a large, plush suite of offices on the Nuffield Way Estate, off Colwell Drive, had a deep, clear, and presumably clean, fountain and water feature outside.

It was off the beaten track but accessible to a passing patrolling police car – in the line of duty, of course.

Well, the summer nights were long, the work hard, tiring and sometimes sweaty, so what better idea than to park up, making sure that all was quiet – as it usually was between 4am and 5am.

With no one around, we’d take off our uniforms, strip down to our undies and jump in.

This was in the days before serious CCTV, because none of us was ever caught.

Looking back, I expect these antics, including skinny dipping, would have earned us a bit more than “words of advice” from our superiors.

Remember those balmy nights of high temperatures and high spirits, lads. And our fatherly sergeant who, still to this day, is probably unaware of our activities.

PETER LAIDLER, Anson Close, Marcham, Abingdon