What will be the final TT for outgoing Chief Constable Gary Roberts proved to be a success for the island’s police force.

New statistics released by the constabulary reveal that this TT saw zero deaths on open roads.

This is a success worth highlighting, as it is the first year in several TT events that this has been the case.

In 2019, when the road race was last held, there were two fatal accidents on open roads. In 2018, there was one.

The police also revealed that collisions more generally on open roads were 12 below the five-year average, at 34.

In 2019, between the Saturday of practice week to the end of the Sunday after Senior Race Day there were 62 collisions in total. In 2018, there were 78.

However, of the 34 collisions this year, 19 were classed as serious, a rise of five from 2019.

This year, there were 156 arrests, compared to 148 in 2019 and 126 in 2018.

Police also issued 223 endorsable fixed penalty notices - 159 of which were for speeding.

One particularly astonishing figure concerns the amount of drugs seized at our borders.

Under Operation Strongbox, £400,000 worth of Class A and B drugs were seized.

There were also a number of incidents involving both drivers and pedestrians attempting to cross the course, which we have previously reported.

Speaking following the publication of these figures, the Chief Constable addressed fellow police.

He said: ‘I joined the constabulary in 1984, and this will be my final TT.

‘In the run-up to it, I was a little bit anxious really because about 40% of our patrol officers had not been involved in the policing of the TT before, lots of our road policing experts had moved on and there were lots of people in new positions.

‘I was a little bit anxious, but the hard work over the winter and the spring has paid off.

‘The level of collisions on the road has been terrific, and that’s in part because of our work and in part because of the road safety team, but it’s also because people have come here to the island and have had a really good attitude.’

He added: ‘The nighttime economy stuff has been absolutely brilliant.

‘Big events around 1886 and at Bushy’s have been policed really well and I’ve lost count of the number of members of the public who have visited the island who have said to me “you lot are fantastic”.

‘That’s because our attitude has been brilliant.

‘We welcome the TT, we embrace it, and we have such a positive, engaging attitude with the public, that I feel really proud of what we have done.

‘I’m delighted. The TT’s a fantastic event. The part the constabulary plays in it I think is an important one.’