CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 He flies beside policeman accompanying primarily impatient crowd (7) 5 Row in the pub that results in broadside (7) 9 Forestall former pupil on the way to empty theatre (7) 10 Chef, we hear, is elderly, and injured husband (7) 11 Shop chain has online presence making casks (9) 12 Copper, very strong, is making restraining devices (5) 13 Strong poles are endlessly hard to come by (5) 15 Wet mayor’s cut character in Twain (3,6) 16 Power – a lot – exercised in pool game (5,4) 18 Handled clumsily when father got married (5) 21 Automaton operated to log me out (5) 22 Resonance at sixth form class allowance (9) 24 Dear Ron, can you swap openings with snooker player? (7) 26 Evangelist gets job in drink (7) 27 Dressing down without initial reason for intentions (7) 28 Puts off one in with people on food regime (7)

DOWN

1 Selections arranged so chic and with primary elegance (7) 2 Dancer who got her dessert? (7) 3 Stick closely – lose head – go away (5) 4 A star (loosely speaking) is born in Renaissance painting (3,5,2,5) 5 What ancient game is played on used to keep spine straight around cured limb (10,5) 6 Mythological bird misses end of crag (3) 7 An insect in the toilet is viewed in detached manner (7) 8 Endures bother of final customer (3,4) 12 Get a grip on carbon illumination (5) 14 Murals turned up with lost last panel in old cathedral city (5) 16 Bet that earnings will be shown as owing (7) 17 Set deal cleverly with giving notice over phone (4-3) 19 Carve something extremely tall in sheet colour (7) 20 Asses put on lockers (7) 23 Became conscious that it’s all right to be consumed by wonder (5) 25 Understand excavation (3)