Episode 12 X-Ray

You're watching X-Ray. On the programme tonight: Gentle giant

Richards Cox, killed by a driver sending dozens of texts from his

truck. We're with Gwent Police catching the drivers putting lives

at risk. We're in Swansea, hearing about the

Morrises problems with Halfords. And we're in Bangor, asking why

empty shops are a blight on our the High Streets

Hello there. Now, are you fed up with the number of betting shops

and charities on your local high street? Later, I'll be finding out

how empty shops are affecting businesses in the city centre here

in Bangor. But first, I'm on the M4, the

busiest road in South Wales. And it's amazing how many drivers I've

spotted on their mobiles. In recent weeks, police across Wales have

been cracking down on people using their phones. We sent Rachel to

Even though it's been against the law for almost a decde, thousands

of motorists every year still get caught using their mobile phones

whilst driving. I'm going out on the road with Gwent Police who are

leading a country-wide campaign to crack down on these dangerous

drivers. Sergeant Andrew Elliot is briefing the road policing team

before they head out. Government research has shown that you're four

times more likely to be involved in a collision when you're using your

mobile phone. Today, we'll actively look at motorists, their driving

capabilities and whether their driving is impaired as a result of

the mobile phones use. While the officers are in police colours,

their cars are not. So why the unmarked cars? As you know with any

offence, really, motorists, they see a police vehicle and they try

and get away with what they may be doing and obviously, we're going to

try and target those motorists today. They may look ordinary, but

the cars have cameras to record vital evidence. For mobile phone

offences, would you ever use that footage? Yeah, we have used it

because generally, the use of a mobile phone is associated with

some element of driving which is a bit of a give-away. So you might be

on this 70mph road here and someone is travelling at 30 miles an hour,

it just doesn't look quite right, or there'll be an element of

drifting between the lanes. He's on his phone there. On his phone. What

we'll do now, we'll go alongside just to see if he's still on the

phone and then we will direct him to pull over and we'll deal with

him then. It hasn't taken long to spot the first culprit. The driver

of this van has been caught red- handed, and not for the first time.

That was your points for previously - don't tell me mobile phone.

was a work thing. It's exactly the same - that's three points.

it's going to cost him far more than just the �60 fine. For this to

be the second time for this to happen now, his premium's age going

to go way up. What just happened? had a phone call from my mum,

asking me if I wanted a CD player and I answered it. Stupid mistake.

Patrolling in the second unmarked police car, PC Gavin Jones spots a

driver who has both hands full. We've just passed a white transit

van. The driver of the vehicle is smoking with one hand and he's

Have you got any points on your licence at this time? We will give

you the opportunity to pick one or two processes. One will be a fixed

penalty ticket with points and a fine, and the other will be a court

appearance. Not fancying his chances in court, he opts for the

�60 on-the-spot fine and gets three points on his licence. But not

everyone is willing to pay up. Some motorists deny being on the phone.

No way. So where is your phone to now? To find the truth, the police

have the power to check phone records. We do a data check, says

basically what calls were made, what call received, text messages

made and received. If a call was made when we stopped him, and he

opts to be taken to court, well, the court can decide what

She's on her phone, mate, that gold car. Speaking into the mobile phone

with the loud speaker, and the mobile phone was being held against

the steering wheel, and she's trying to drive. When you were

travelling up the motorway between junctions 27 and 28, you were on

your mobile phone, OK? You were speaking into it. I was on my

SatNav as well. You were speaking into it, all right? The woman

denies speaking on the phone. At first, she says she was using the

SatNav app. But then she claims she was using it as a dictaphone. In

the meantime, a routine check comes up with a startling result. Look

how many points you've got on your licence. 15 points. So for this

driver, it's a visit to court. up to the courts at the time of

when the person goes to court whether to disqualify them after

the 12-point period or if they want to give them extra points on top,

that's normal. We do, and now we're finding that a lot of people are

having more than 12 points. latest smartphones do much more

than make calls these days. But the law is clear. A lot of these

smartphones now have the maps in them, haven't they? I mean, lots of

people probably wouldn't know that was a problem, using that. Exactly

the same offence applies. It's the use of the mobile phone in the hand,

so if we do catch people who are on Facebook. Facebook. Other social

networking sites. Use applications, using the internet, using any

facility within that phone whilst you're driving, you're committing

an offence. A SatNav can be fitted quite... He's on his phone here.

What starts off as a straightforward fixed penalty fine

turns into a much bigger problem for this driver. This gentleman has

an expired driving licence. Right, when's that? So, that's a whole new

ball game, isn't it? A whole new ball game now. He was driving

without a licence. So what we're going to do now is we're actually

going to sieze the vehicle to prevent him from driving any

further and he's going to be prosecuted for driving without a

licence, potentially no insurance and also driving whilst using his

mobile phone. I presume you have been to incidents that have been

pretty serious incidents where mobile phone use has been at the

centre of that. Yes, we have had tragedy within the Welsh region and

nationally, as a whole, there have been cases where members of the

public, be they pedestrians or other road users, have obviously

died as a result of collisions whereby motorists were using their

mobile phone, and there's been serious injury collisions as well.

And that's why we're out there, to get the message across by just

using that mobile phone for a Later in the programme, we'll be

hearing from a family still coming to terms with the consequences of

one driver's thoughtlessness. It's a moving story and a lesson for us

all. Now, last week, we asked for your

help in tracking down the man behind a company called Bellway

Paving. Back in August, the company charged Terry and Anne Lewis nearly

�3,000 to tarmac their drive. That included a bill of �2,000 for a �50

roll of plastic. Well, we've had calls from people in Porth,

Caerphilly and Bridgend, and a number of you believe the same

people are behind two other companies - Global Drives and

Classic Driveways. We're busy following up on those calls, and if

following up on those calls, and if following up on those calls, and if

you can help, then get in touch. Our contact details are on your

82-year-old Glenys Poole has always made sure she's kept her finances

in order. So, she and her family couldn't believe it when Tesco's

credit card suddenly sent a statement. We cancelled Mum's

credit card ages ago and it was a real shock then when a bill for

�506 came through the door. She was really really distressed about this

as she knew she didn't owe any Glenys's daughter Karen helps her

82-year-old mum with day-to-day living. She helped her last year

when she wanted to cancel her Tesco credit card. There was nothing left

to pay on it, so they were So, Karen, you help your mum out,

do you? Yes, I do. I try and pop in most evenings to see her as I only

live about five minutes away so it's quite easy to do that on my

way home from work. I make sure her mail is opened properly and

everything is dealt with. Glenys suffers short-term memory problems

and was confused when a bill arrived. But Karen knew she had

cancelled her mother's card, and thought she'd be able to sort

things out quickly. I phoned Tesco and they confirmed that no, it was

a computer error, she didn't owe any money and the account was

closed and just said, "Sorry, it won't happen again." But did it

happen again? Yes, it did. The following month, yet another bill

for the same amount, �506, came. Did you contact Tesco? I did. I

rang them again and spoke to a different person and they said the

same thing, "We're really, really sorry but it's a computer error."

So I asked them, "Why can't you stop it?" And they assured me that

they would. But they didn't. The next month, another bill arrived,

as did another letter from Tesco apologising for that computer error

and promising again that the account was definitely closed. But

it wasn't. Lo and behold, the following month, another credit

card bill arrived for the same amount. I bet you couldn't believe

it. Mum was really upset by this time she was convinced that she did

owe it, and I kept trying to re- assure her that she didn't, that it

was a mistake, but she was very, very upset. So, how long has this

been going on for? Five credit card bills, so five months now. One

month after another, she's been having these bills and I just don't

know what to do. Karen, I'm on the Well, we've been in touch with

Tesco credit card who say they're sorry. They say they've fallen

short of their high standard of customer service and have taken

steps to prevent this type of error from happening again. They've

confirmed that the account is definitely closed and no further

statements will be sent. And to apologise further for any stress

and inconvenience caused, they've sent Glenys �100 as a goodwill

gesture. Many thanks for your help, Lucy. Mum and I are realy really

pleased. We've had a letter from Tesco's now, saying that the

account is definitely closed and that we shouldn't have any more

correspondence, so many thanks for your help. And that's another case

Still to come tonight: We'll be returning to that campaign to clamp

down on drivers using their mobiles, hearing from one mother who lost

her son as a result. First, though, empty shops are the

blight of every High Street, and here in Bangor, it's a growing

problem. Recent figures show that more than 20% of all shops here are

What you think about the shopping situation head? Disgusting!

Everything has gone. When I used to work in the market over there,

shops all along. More shops are closing down, but that is the

economy today. It used to be full, years ago. Now, empty shops

everywhere. There are a few shops, but not enough! Lots more charity

shops. The branded shops have gone out of town or a way. A shame,

really. One shop owner who's managed to stay the distance is

Adrian Clark. Now, Adrian, you've been going for more than 20 years.

Oh, yes. We have seen changes in the decline of shops, the bigger

retailers. That has left us with a number of empty shops, but also the

smaller independent shopkeepers, very few and far between. Has there

been tough? Yes. That, with the decline in the ft 4 in the town

centre, it has been difficult. across the Menai Bridge in Holyhead,

they think they have found a solution. I'll be finding out about

that later in the programme. Now, their adverts make a virtue of

their customer service - That's Helpful. That's Halfords is the

line. But one family in Swansea thinks the company's been anything

Black moebg from the exhaust. Radiator fluid that bubbles. And

oil that tests positive for bits of metal from the rest of the engine!

Meet Philip and Helen Morris from Swansea. The not so happy owners of

this car. Their Renault Modus cost �14,000 and was supposed to keep

them on the road well into their retirement. We have family in

Southampton, and car dif, we want to travel round the country, don't

we. -- Cardiff. So it was important to have something reliable. So 18

months of problem free driving after they bought the cars it was

time for the first major service. The couple spotted the promise of

reasonably price services so they booked a service at a local

Halfords for �200. They were offering the equivalent service to

the manufacturer specification, because it was good value for money.

Did everything seem fine? Did it sail through the service.

Everything seemed fine but I drove it the next day and the heerth

wasn't working. I was going down to Southampton, so see my brand-new

granddaughter. Kept an eye on the temperature gauge, it was fine.

When I got to Southampton, I rang Halfords and told them and they say

it must be an airlock in the system. So Philip drove home. But just

after he crossed the Severn bridge things started to go wrong, as the

energy temperature soared. All of a sudden the temperature gauge went

zooming up, it said stop, so I stopped, pulled in on the motorway,

and I had to get out and use a roadside motorway phone. So I

stopped. When they came along they towed me off to the next junction.

They had a good look at the car, and they put a gallon and a quarter

of water. They were shocked, you know, it had so little water.

Philip brought his car back here and says he was surprised by

Halford's attitude When I said, if it was an airlock as you say, how

is it is gallon and a quarter? Halfords agreed to take another

look and apologised for the poor level of service he had received

initially. A few weeks after the first break down the car overheated

for a second time, leaving the Morrises stranded all over again.

They put more water in the system. Again, I had to go back to Halfords.

The water pump had developed a leak on the seal. They replaced the

timing belt. This is getting to serious stuff. The couple were now

really worried. Fearing the two break downs caused by overheating

could have done major damage to the inside of their engine. Halfords

suggesting Renault do tests on the car, if they were hoping that would

reassure the Morrises they were about to be disappointed. Instead,

there was bad news from Renault. Not only did their tests find

potentially significant problems with the engine, they told the

couple that the work they had done by a non-Renault garage could

result in future issues. And because of that, it was unlikely

that the Renault warranty would cover the potential repairs

required. We were shocked, you know, that the manufacturer was now

withdrawing the guarantee on the gin, on a brand-new car.

Morriss were writing to Halfords to push for a new engine, believing

that was the best way to get Renault to honour their warranty.

The weeks were flying by and they say they were clocking up the miles.

Seven months and 8,000 miles after their first break down, they called

in Gareth Rees, an independent vehicle inspector to take a look.

He told them to stop driving the car immediately. We take the raid

away dor cap off, we can see the amount of bubbling going on. That

is ice cold. You would think it was hot. Yes, the reason is there is

exhaust gases escaping into the cool last night system, so when the

engine is running you can see this bubbling and the exhaust smoke.

That shouldn't be in there. That is telling us there is something

seriously wrong. I would suggest that a rebuild may be more

expensive than a replacement engine. I suggest that the way we look at

it is a new engine. Halford s dispute that and they say not all

the issues can be at tributed to them. They say since April, they

have been offering a detailed inspection of the engine and to

repair any faults found. They say the work would be done to a high

standard, recommend diall issue, and carry a two-year guarantee,

that exceeds the length of Renault's original warranty. The

Morrises say a new engine will cost them �6,000 and without it their

car has been sitting on the drive for six weeks. They have had to buy

a second car just to get about. Not good. Well Halfords say they have

tried hard to remedy the situation. They also say they have carried out

a series of inspections and repairs at no cost to couple. They say

their offer to inspect the engine and put right the faults still

stands. Earlier we heard about the problems with shops closing in

Bangor. That was a big issue in Holyhead too. 40% of the swhorps

empty. Now a new project is tackling the problem. The Plas Cybi

Communities First project works by finding empty shops and offering

subsidised rents to new shop holders. I have come to meet Trudy

Sodden. Hello. Tell me how it helps you set up? Well, we found a shop

and got it ready for moving into. Helped by making some shelves and

getting it ready really. They gave you help with the rent initially.

They subsidised the rent for a short time but since the beginning

of the year we have been standing on our own two feet. Would you have

been able to set up wouldn't that support? No, there is no way, I

would never have been able to find the premises like these, and I

wouldn't have been able to afford to set it up. Your shop looks

lovely. How is the business going? It is doing really well, improving

all the time. Best of luck with it. Now it is back to our main story,

as Rachel found out using a mobile phone while driving is a growing

problem on our roads, and the consequences can be devastating.

You may find some of the images in Richard and I were very very cloe,

as mum and son, we were really close, he concentrated on his

family and Richard was so, he was a very good provider. He was really

really gentle. He is a gentle giant. He would help anybody, he would go

out of his way to help anyone. He didn't deserve to end his life the

way he did. A 38-year-old man driving a break down recovery van

has died in a collision. Two other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The news came on, a news flash, and the picture of the truck came on,

the van, and I turned and I said to my mum "I hope to God that's not

one of Richard's friends. "Easter Monday 2011 and the M 4 was packed

with bank holiday traffic heading home. Dad of two Richard Cox was

working on the hard should e helping an eld ly couple whose

motor home had broken down. wife of the gentleman in the

caravan saw that the tanker vehicle coming up the hard shoulder as if

it was in a lane. That is how she described it. This driver hadn't

drifted, over the hard shoulder, and slightly collided with it. It

had come fully over, which to us indicated that the driver wasn't

paying attention at all. The motor home was propelled over 200 feet,

along the hard shoulder and the tanker lorry and recovery truck

then ended up in the central reservation of the motorway, so it

was propelled across the three lanes of the motorway, into the

central reths reservation. Here was a man trying to earn an honest

living and he stood no chance at all. He was killed outright. At the

scene, the road was shut for five hours, as South Wales police began

a year long investigation into the crash that would explore every

detail. We look for many different areas to gather evidence from

witness, from the tack graph on the vehicles involved, from CCTV and

mobile phones. And what we found here, is that the driver of the

tanker vehicle had 180 texts sent or receives in his working day. Of

those 180, 140 were proved to have taken place while the vehicle was

in motion, clearly this individual was a dangerous driver, because

anybody using a phone to that extent, I mean any use is

unacceptable, but that was just beyond belief. Sadly Richard Cox's

family are not the only one whose lives have been devastated by

dangerous driver using a mobile phone. The year before, Richard Cox

died, there was another incident oant the M4 outside Cardiff, in

which a lady Mary Allen died, and she had been hit from behind by a

motorist using a mobile phone. horrific crash was caught on film

by a police officer dealing with another incident on the same

stretch of road. Mary Allen's family have allowed us to show this

footage n the hope it can stop anyone else having to go through

their nightmare. You will see by lookings at the footage that the

brake lights of the offending vehicle were not illuminated, so it

ploughed into the back of the queue in traffic woust without any

attempt to brake, which indicates to me the individual wasn't paying

attention, our interrogation of the mobile phone and subsequent

inquiries reveal that the driver was in fact engaged in a

conversation on their mobile phone at the time of the collision.

families have been left utterly heartbroken. They are still

struggling to come to terms with losing their loved ones so

needlessly. His funeral was amazing. The church was completely packed,

from front to back, to right outside. It was like a king being

sent out of this world, but with a load of break down people. Last

month tanker driver David Morgan admitted by -- causing death by

dangerous drivele. He was jailed and given a five year driving ban.

If we are investigating somebody we will seed the mobile phone and

interrogate it, and we will find out if a individual is using their

mobile device while driving. No phone call, no text message can be

important enough to risk other people's lives. I feel so angry of

the fact that these people out there, but they don't know the

devastation they can cause, to a whole generation, of one family. I

beg you as a mother, turn them off. Just forget you've got them.

Shocking story there. Inspector Lee Ford that, brings the consequences

home to us. Yes. It is very tragic but it is need lvings, it needn't

happen. People driving in vehicles don't need to use their my

honourable friend, -- mobile phone, they shouldn't be using them for

speaking on, sending text messages or anything phones can do. It is

very dris tracting and it Cazs tragedy. Your officers are on the

look out. You have had the results of the clampdown we filmed. During

that time we have detected almost 1,000 offender, drives who have

been using mobile phones while driving. Each of those drivers

would have had a �60 fine and three penalty points as a result of doing

that, so they are not just endangering themselves and other

user, they are endangering the futures of their driving licenses.

Well, that is it for this week. Remember, if there is anything you

would like us to investigate get in touch. You can give us a call. Or

drop us an e-mail. Next week, we will hear from the unlucky