Can inspector sands

The eerie Victorian official comes complete with top hat and ticket machine, fated to wander the secret rooms and tunnels of the tube network for eternity, as measured in the sand timer he keeps in place of a face. The picture was originally submitted as part of our series: Londonist Underground. We asked readers to draw, paint or photograph an image of subterranean London as part of the celebrations for the Tube's th anniversary — then mounted an exhibition of the best. The best things to do in London.

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I'm sure I have heard this before at other stations. Is it a code for something? Ben, Bedford UK It sounds like a variation of a warning of an emergency. There are similar messages used in theatres to warn of fire.

David Randall, Gateshead England Almost certainly. Most public places with tannoys stations, sports stadiums etc. The all clear is then often given by a tannoy message, such as the one you heard. The precise phrase used at each place is kept only to those that need to know but they are often such obscure messages that people wonder what they are!

I often hear it at Notting Hill Gate. My theory is that it's csome sort of code-name for fire-alerts and fire-related issues; I used to work in a restaurant where the code-name for a fire alarm was 'Mr Sands'. Nick, London England Correct!

It is a code - usually means there is a fire on the premises. The code is used in order to alert staff without alarming customers. It was preceded by an announcement that there was now going to be a fire drill. Everybody looked a bit confused when instead of an alarm bell ringing, there was a recorded announcement requesting this Inspector Sams chap. No doubt this is so that people don't panic. Any suggestions? R Cooper, Twickenham England It's Inspector Sands, and it's a safety code letting the staff know that there's a fire on the premises but avoiding panicking the public.

They normally call the fictitious Inspector to a particular location to indicate where the fire is, and often say something like 'Inspector Sands has left the building' when the fire has been tackled. I learnt this while stewarding at London sports grounds, but was surprised to find that nearly everywhere uses the same code, which is a little silly. The only exception was Stamford Bridge, where they use 'Mr Bridge'.

Rather stupidly, even now when I'm on the London Underground and I hear this announcement, I never leave the station. Tom Fassnidge, London UK Its not really a code simply advice that they would like to speak to him regarding something trivial like a late train.

It was a recorded announcement, by a very RP male voice. As it mentioned the inspector by name, and must have been recoorded some years ago, I realised that the announcement couldn't be for the actual inspector, and sure enough about a minute later a more 'modern' London voice came on the tannoy to tell us to evacuate the station.