NEWS: Intercontinental Inspector

By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
26 October 2009

THE long arm of the law turned out to be very long indeed for a retired police inspector who successfully circumnavigated the globe thanks to the hospitality of dozens of international police forces.

Tom McInally, 49, who recently retired from Lothian and Borders Police, is on the last stretch of his bid to take "the long way round" the world in aid of disability charity Capability Scotland.

Inspired by the television series of the same name charting Trainspotting star Ewan McGregor and his friend Charly Boorman's travels around the world by motorcycle, Tom revved up his BMW GS1200 and set off with two friends from the Capability HQ in Ellersly Road to the ferryport at Hull on 9 May.

After a quick jaunt through Zebrugge, they set up camp in France.

It was an experience of a lifetime for fellow rider David Burdus, from the Newcastle area, who lost the use of his legs in a motorcycle accident 20 years ago and made it as far as France on a specially adapted Martin Conquest three-wheeler.

From there Tom, who lives in Corstorphine, and fellow retired Inspector Gordon Thyne, 52, from North Queensferry, set off through Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Ukraine before running into a bit of trouble with the law in Russia.

Tom said: "The Russian police have a habit of pulling you over and asking for bribes to overlook so-called 'traffic offences'.

"We got stopped eight times and each time we had to spend half an hour telling them they weren't getting anything from us, which mostly consisted of us saying 'nyet!' over-and-over again from a Lonely Planet phrasebook.

"Once we made it clear we were retired policemen they stopped asking us for money and started asking us about policing in Scotland."

In most countries Tom visited he was treated like a king by foreign police officers through his contacts in the International Police Association (IPA), a network of serving and retired officers that spans the world.

After enduring the treacherous roads of Kazakhstan and Siberian Russia, Gordon split off at Vladivostok to find his own way home through Korea, while Tom headed on to Japan.

Tom added: "I visited Hiroshima and it was so moving to see the devastation caused there with my own eyes. I spent some time with the Yokohama Harbour patrols before heading on to Tokyo.

"The Japanese chapter of the IPA laid on a reception for me at every town I visited, and took me on tours of castles and sights.

"From there I flew the bike to Los Angeles and rode through the southern states of America, where I was treated to some real southern hospitality. I spent five days trying to get out because they had a party for me every night. They wouldn't let me leave.

"I eventually made it to New York where I got a tour of the 26th Precinct and the Police Museum before flying back to Heathrow."

Tom is now set to embark on the final stretch of his 'Transglobomoto' expedition through Wales and Ireland, before returning to Scotland. He has raised over £24,000 for Capability Scotland so far, and further donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/transglobemoto