Episode 1 Crimewatch Roadshow

new series. Over the next four weeks, we shall join the police

taking on the bad guys. Bashing down doors, tackling anti-social

behaviour. And helping you stay great to be back. We shall

crisscross the country and we shall need your help to solve everyday

crimes that can be such a blight. Your calls could make all the

difference and we are kicking off with some really important appeals

and this is what we have today... Cassie McCord was killed by a driver

who failed his roadside I test dies -- days earlier. This has led to a

crackdown on Britain's short-sighted motorists. And this young thug

fancies his chances robbing a 71-year-old. She was not going to

let him get away without putting up a fight. And the beloved family pet

stolen from her owner and abandoned on a busy motorway. And the Roadshow

team are out and about, today in South Wales, Sian Lloyd is on Barry

Island. I cannot think of the better place to be. The Sun is trying to

come out and this is one of the most favourite beach resorts in Wales,

home to be comedy series, Gavin and Stacey. Not all fun, because like

other places, it has its fair share of anti-social behaviour. And when

the sun comes out, it gets extremely busy and the police have to enlist

the help of volunteers. We will find out later. And following the report

on eyesight tests, police are going to test my eyesight and I have to

say, I am feeling nervous! Why did you get to go to the seaside? ! We

need to have a word. First, we need your help to track down two robbers

who went on the rampage around Swansea earlier this year. They mate

have been an aggressive terror, but that was not going to stop

71-year-old Margaret Griffiths from giving as good as she got. -- might.

Mount Pleasant and Swansea, Saturday in March. The day begins.

71-year-old Margaret Griffiths is up early to open her corner shop.

have worked here for 22 years. I think Mount Pleasant is a nice

community and the shop is a happy place, I hope! What Margaret did not

know was that she was about to be caught up in a frightening crime

spree. One mile away, two men were stealing a 4x4 and hot wiring the

engine. They were going to use a Mitsubushi Shogun to carry out a

string of serious offences. The first of which would be that the

builders Arms pub in Swansea city centre. At 6:15am, the car sped up

Oxford Street. And smashed through the doors of the pub. At the Londis

store, Margaret was totally unaware of the raid. The men have stolen

some cash at the builders pub. But they wanted more. They were next

seen at the nearby hotel, looking through the windows. But they soon

moved on empty-handed. It was 7:35am. Margaret was about to become

their next target. His body language is a -- body language was not good.

The hooded man covered his place. -- face. Things were about to get

really nasty. I realised what he was going to do. He lunged for me, I

could tell. Margaret fought back, trying to wrestle the till away from

him. My first reaction, just grab it on my side. Then we have this

puzzle. He was grabbing and I was grabbing whatever I could, hopefully

to keep it. We were no idea I, very close. It was quite... I thought he

might just give up. Against the odds, Margaret won this tug-of-war.

And the ended up on the floor behind the country. The hooded thief

appeared to give up. I thought he was going to go because he turned.

But he changed his mind. This thief was going nowhere. He packed up the

till and jumped back cover the counter. -- pact. Then Margaret

persisted and tried to stop him getting out. He gave me a little

shove and off-balance and he managed to get through the door.

followed the man outside but he sped off in his stolen car. I was able to

get the number plate and memorise it. It was only then that they'd all

sunk in. I came back into the shop, back through the doorway, and that

was when I felt absolutely awful. She called 909 to report the

robbery. I in Norfolk Street, Mount Pleasant, someone has stolen the

till. I could not fight. Whether or not he expected Margaret to stand

aside, I don't know, but I don't think anybody could have expected

the wonderful efforts at Margaret made in an attempt to prevent him

from stealing. She was extremely brave. And the thieves? They finally

dumped their car in Mayhill. Police are pulling out all the stops to

catch these villains. And they need your help. It is really important to

bring these people to justice. not know what other crimes they have

been involved in or other occurrences, but we need your help.

Let's remind ourselves -- the car was stolen from Mayhill in Swansea.

At 6:15am, it was used in a Rams reared -- ram raid in the city

centre. At 7:25am, they were seen at the hotel in the north of the city.

They then headed to the Londis store in Mount Pleasant, just after

7:30am. And they finally ditched their car back in Mayhill. It was a

very commonly attack, Margaret is 71 years old. She is very feisty but we

would not encourage anybody to fight to the levels that Margaret did.

Margaret 's family has been shaken by this experience. I have got

children and grandchildren and they are horrified. They obviously don't

want to think of me... Anything happening to me or me being involved

in anything. But Margaret refuses to let this robbery change her life.

has just may be more wary. Of people. I tend to be more suspicious

and generally more on edge. But I went to work that same evening. I

would not want things to change. Margaret is someone because not only

did you stand up to that found but she went back to work the same

night. We do have some clues. Particularly, this Mitsubushi

Shogun, stolen from the mail area of Swansea on the 16th of March. That

was the day of the rugby six Nations decider when Wales took go in

that day, police want to hear from you. And DC David Welham is

investigating. Quite a crime spree? They committed quite if you offences

that morning. Throughout Swansea. And clothing is the key? From CCTV,

we know one of the offenders was wearing this hooded jumper and also

these shoes. Anybody who saw this vehicle, someone wearing this

clothing, that is important. This is poor economy strong. We know that

the perpetrator was wearing these shoes because of the tread the

covered. -- recovered. How did police link this to the scene of the

crime? Rive Wilding has one of the forensic team. -- Rav Wilding.

Thomas heads up the forensic team for South Wales. This is exactly

like the shoe that was left at the scene but how do we determine marks

left by the offender or someone legitimately? We had a targeted area

to work to so we made the job easier. This mark was taken from

some paper? Yes, he steps on this piece of paper, which has been

disturbed during the fight. We know from our specialist footwear unit,

they have identified that as this Kickers boot. From this mark, you

can identify the shoe? They have to eliminate people who normally work

in that area and from that, they use their database of 30,000 shoe

marks, 500 Manufacturer 's supply these. And they get categorisations

and they can produce exactly the replica. So much information from

just the shoe? I will put this to the test. I am wearing a pair of

shoes with hardly any grip. I want to see if you can lift my foot

rent. Bit of a challenge. But your right foot onto the yellow paper.

Transfer this directly onto the paper. And we should see the result.

Let's have a look. Quite impressive. What can you get from that? This is

quite interesting because we have the brand name. You can see some

were battering. This defining line. Good proportions, we could get your

shoe size. No great difficulty in identifying that shoe. There is a

lot of information just from that, which I thought would have been

difficult. And those marks. If you were wearing my shoes are we had the

same shoes, yours will be different? With the same height and weight,

using for one month, we travelled differently and we can see different

characteristics on the uniqueness of that shoe. What if there was a

communal household and a pair of shoes was used and the owners said,

somebody else must have worn them. Can you do anything? Confronted with

that, in addition to the footwear evidence, we can do DNA work, and

will look at the laces and the strap and additional stuff,

ground-breaking stuff, the dietary work done on the shoes to show the

impression left by somebody's foot. No hiding whatsoever. Thank you for

joining us. Hopefully I am in the clear! Let's look at some criminals

got on camera. Watch carefully. -- caught on camera. Ten days before

Christmas in West London. It is past closing time but these men are

casing the joint. And they are not after a cup of coffee. One of them

breaks in and starts emptying the shelves and windowsills. But when he

is heading for the till, he decides he needs to keep a very low profile.

And he crawls across the floor. What is he doing? He gets to the Tilburg

cannot open it. No problem, he takes the entire thing. Cash, two

televisions and tobacco worth �1500 in total. Give us the lowdown on

this man. It is the early hours of the morning, on the bus route

between Turnpike Lane and West Green in London. This man checks out the

top floor. He sits down, but he has spotted something on the seat in

front of him and he moves in for a closer look. Eventually, he heads

back downstairs again. But what is this? He picked up someone else's

bag which has an expensive Saturn Avenue in it. He definitely did not

have that when he got on. Do you A jewellery shop in Norwich,

September last year. These two women have come in to look at gold

bracelets. They are doing more than just looking. If you look closely,

you'll see the woman on the left is distracting the sales assistant.

Meanwhile, her accomplice takes one bracelet, hides it, before reaching

These two women certainly have the Midas touch. We have got to see that

again. That is so underhand. In just one spree, they made off with �9,000

of gold. Do not let them get away with it. Let us catch these two

Seamus gold grabbers. That was very slight indeed. If you

know anything about those crimes, please call us, or e-mail us. All of

the footage is also on the website. Still to come on today's programme.

The callous thieves who stole a family pet dog and dumped her next

to a motorway. Can you help police catch them? And this driver 's

eyesight was so bad, police said he should not have been on the road.

But would you pass a road side I test?

This is one of Wales's busiest beaches, not that you would know it

on a Monday morning. But when the sun is shining and school is out, it

is a different story. Barry Island on a busy bank holiday

weekend. Barry Island, on a sunny day and at

this, we could have 20,000 visitors. A lot of visitors arrive at the same

time, the car parks and train stations and roads are busy.

There is so much to do, south Wales police have recruited a group of

civilian volunteers. We want to ensure everyone feels

safe to be here, and they do not have to deal with anyone messing

around, being drunk and disorderly, and stopping anti-social behaviour

is our main aim on the island. The volunteers do not get paid but they

do get great experience if they want to become police officers.

I have always had an interest in the police. I have finished a degree in

police science at Glamorgan. This is a precursor.

This isn't work experience, they are a real help to police officers,

reminding daytrippers of the alcohol ban on the beach. With up to 70

children going missing in crowds every year, they have a way of

keeping families altogether. Hello, we are handing out these

wristbands. The volunteers write the mobile phone number on the

wristband. If your child gets separated, we can rewrite -- blue

note reunite you with your child in by phoning.

We explained to the older ones to go to someone for help. All for the

younger ones, they have a wristband. Have a good day. Stay safe.

Goodbye! Parents find it all very reassuring.

It is a great idea, you can lose your child very easily on the beach.

Even though she does it for free, Emma loves her job with the police.

It is fantastic, every time a child is reunited.

It makes it better for everyone coming to the island knowing their

children is safe. They are here as an aid for us,

which frees up time to deal with anti-social behaviour, any possible

problems. What a difference a Bank Holiday

makes. Emma, who we saw in the film, is with me now. You cannot caution

or arrest people, what do you do if you spot trouble on the beach?

Barry Island is a family resort. On a typical day, residents, public and

the many visitors, it is about engaging with them, letting them

feel comfortable here. We have been known to do things such as, no

alcohol is allowed on Barry Island. If there is a large amount, we will

bring up a lease officer who can confiscate it. Correction-macro a

police officer. There is also a dog band between May and September.

Everyone can enjoy the sun and the beach without dogs running around,

and people drunk on beaches. And you don't wear a uniform, so you are

quite approachable for people and children.

Police forces around the country are asking for your help to find these

men. Our first face is this man, Brian James Waite. He has been on

the run for almost seven years. He escaped from prison in 2006 where he

was serving 11 years for an armed robbery where �25,000 was stolen

from a security van. He has connections to west Yorkshire, Spain

and the Netherlands. He has a liver condition and detectives believe he

may be receiving treatment in the UK. Have you seen him recently? Help

put him back in prison. Next, Kevin Brown, jailed for five

years in April 2008 for supplying heroin and crack cocaine. He was

released early but failed to stick to his conditions and is now wanted

back in jail. He speaks with a London accident -- absent. Police

believe he has a goatee style beard. Number three is Alexsandro Guerra

Sobrinho, wanted by police since May 2010.

He was charged with grievous bodily harm after a man was stabbed in the

shoulder but he failed to turn up in court. Originally from Italy, he has

connections with north London but could be anywhere in the country.

Finally today, take a close look at this man, 29-year-old Royston Joseph

Parris. He stood trial at Cardiff Crown Court the drug dealing after

police seized a large quantity of heroin and almost �16,000 in cash.

He absconded and was found guilty in his absence. He has been on the run

since March this year. He is six feet tall and is of large build. He

has links with Bristol, and Bath, Cardiff and London. Please do not

approach him but contact the police. If you recognise any of

these men, please contact us. when you get in a car it is really

important you can see where you are going but it is estimated 2 million

drivers on Britain's roads are too short-sighted to pass the standard

driver eyesight test. Police in South Wales are cracking

down on drivers whose eyesight is not up to scratch. Morning, sir,

sorry to bother you. Road side crackdown is happening because of

one incident which caused the death of 16-year-old Cassie McCord.

was a normal teenager. She loved to go shopping and spending money. She

liked family outings, going to the beach for picnics. She was goodbye,

always giggling. Just normal. In normal, teenage girl. Cathy was

studying for her A-levels at Colchester sixth form college.

was bright, she would have gone to university I am sure. There were

lots of different things she was thinking about doing but she wanted

to do law. She was doing law A-level. Cathy would never become a

lawyer. On February seven, 2011, her mum had an urgent visit from the

police. They wouldn't give me too much information, they said she had

been involved in an accident and they were taking me to Colchester

Hospital where she was. They kept saying it is serious. I said, I am

not going to break down, I need to know on the scale of serious where

we are talking. He said, you need to prepare for the worst.

Cathy had been knocked down by a car while walking to school. This

shocking CCTV footage shows the car mounted the pavement twice before

hitting Cassie. She was left in a critical condition.

We stayed with her. It was quite nice. You know... You can get to say

But when police investigated the 87-year-old driver of the car, it

emerged he had been involved in a minor crash at a petrol station just

three days earlier and had failed a police eye test. The police were

called at the time, because a couple of people at the petrol station

said, my God, that man should not be driving. Anyway, the police did a

roadside eye test when they were called. Which he failed. They did

not have powers to do anything about it. Two hours they were with him. He

kept saying, are you telling me I cannot drive? They said they could

not, but they suggested it was not a good idea. The coroner found Cassie

had been unlawfully killed and it is likely the driver had his foot on

the accelerator instead of the brake. Jackie thought he should have

been taken off the road before the accident. She launched a campaign to

give police powers to revoke drivers licenses on the spot if they failed

and eyesight test. I thought, I cannot let this happen to anybody

else. It is wrong the police do not have the powers. We started the

campaign for Cassie. Her campaign succeeded. Two years after Cassie

died, police were given the right to revoke licences on the roadside. To

get a licence back, drivers have to pass a medical. South Wales police

are making the most of the new powers. Can I ask you to read the

number plate on the police car in front of you. Sorry, no, I have just

had my new glasses. Road safety officers are on the roads all over

south Wales putting drivers eyesight to the test. Can you stand by the

Ballard, madam. That is 20 metres. Keep your glasses on. Something...

Oh, gosh. This driver is not able to read the number plate clearly from

20 metres. As the result is borderline, her licence is not

revoked but she is given a written warning and she agrees to take

action. I have got reading glasses, but obviously I need a pair of

driving glasses as well. Can I ask you to read the number plate on the

police car in front of you. I can't, I haven't got my glasses.

Oh, my goodness. The number plate on the police car? No, sorry. I am not

doing well, am I? Make sure you wear your glasses. This woman couldn't

read the whole of the registration either. She also got a written

warning. They will keep a record and if it happens again they could take

more serious action. If you were glasses, wear them. Like the police

officer said, I can cause an asteroid which I totally agree with.

So, I think it is a good thing. Correction-macro I can cause an

accident. Anyone who does not take advice following the warning may be

punished. We give advice. If they choose to ignore it, we have to do

something such as giving a fixed penalty notice or we can revoke,

which is something we do not want to do but we have the power to.

there is something we can do to stop deaths on our roads, then we will.

Jackie is still grieving for her daughter, Cassie. Her hope now is

that police will be able to prevent a similar tragedy happening again.

am just pleased that, if it stops another death, like Cassie, it is

worth it. That accident should not have happened. It was totally,

totally avoidable. Had this law been in place in that time, Cassie would

important it is to better eyesight tested regularly. Over the next few

weeks, I will cover a few miles and Nicola will put my eyesight to the

test. It is quite a distance that it will have to see? 20 metres, people

imagine that to be greater but 20 metres is far enough but you have to

do that, as a requirement. It is a serious issue, the serious

consequences we could see their from this. You put a lot into this, you

have to find the right place to check? We have run numerous

operations and we used layby is that our 20 metres long, safe entrances

and exits, numerous operations and we shall continue with that. I will

have my eyesight tested. Let us take a look. We have 20 metre markings.

The police car has been brought along. The registration plate.

Perfect! If I did not get that, my lessons would be revoked. What next?

The optician would give you an eyesight test and perhaps glasses or

contact lenses and you might need your licence revoked prominently.

Then you cannot do anything about that. I am so grateful that I

passed. Very relieved. Thank you. The sun is beginning to come out on

Barry Island and it is always a dilemma on the beach, what about

your body doubles? Police have been patrolling further up the coast,

giving advice to surfers on where to stash their stuff. Porthcawl in

South Wales, surfers are attracted here from all over the UK. But where

do they keep their valuables? PC Chris Block regularly patrols the

car park, talking to surfers. They have various secret hiding places.

thought it was find you. I will not do that again. There are times when

he puts it underneath the car, which is quite bad. I cannot imagine why

that would be bad! On your wheel? ! Some guys from a Surf club in

Cardiff had their cars stolen because they had it in their keys in

the suspension. Things like that, you can see rocks, I would not let

it pass them to leave their keys under there. You were talking about

where to leave the key? Underneath a rock, somewhere. Police are so

concerned about car theft, they have been handed out -- handing out

pouches. We shall give you a free waterproof podge, and you can put

your keys in their because I don't want to see you coming out and your

car has been stolen. If I ask you, where was your key? On the wheel,

officer! Are you happy with that? Did. Time to hit the surf. Safe in

the knowledge that their cars will still be there when they get back.

That is a very good campaign but it is not just surfers who have this

problem and Sam, I have brought my things along, typical beach things.

Flippers, and also my purse and mobile phone. People with stuff

those down the bottom of the bag or wrap them up in their fault. If you

really need to bring valuables to the beach, you must be responsible

for them. If you, the group of friends, share the responsibility.

Only take what is necessary, if you have come by car, keep things like

soup -- securely in the boot. If sunbathing, keep your valuables

under your pillow or your arms, so you will no when somebody tries to

take them. Only take what is necessary, a sickly. Good advice.

Thank you. Only take what is necessary. Having your stuff stolen

can be very upsetting but at least most things can be replaced. If

these steal something much more precious, like a family pet, it can

cause terrible heartache. They say a dog is a man's best friend and with

Alan, his faithful dog was part of the family. I had Nicky when she was

three years old. She has never given me any trouble, always wanted to

come with me, she hated if I was not around. One of the best dogs I have

had. Landscaper Alan Thomas and his dog were inseparable, until it left

in April which would change everything. -- until a theft. Alan

had a job in the Morriston area of Swansea and Nicky was by his side.

As Alan got on with his building, Nicky snoozed in the van, as always.

Any job, everybody knew her, she would sit down by them, never any

trouble, she just sat down. If she did not like the rain, she would sit

in the car. But the sun was shining, she would sit with us. His keys in

the truck, thinking it would be safe as they made frequent journeys back

and forth. But it seems that Alan and his crew were being watched.

Witnesses have told police that they had seen young men sitting in

another white van parked nearby. Nobody knows exactly what happens

next and the police believe one of those men could have approached Alan

's truck. Alan was at the back of the property working with noisy

machinery. He did not hear his engine being started. His truck had

been stolen. I went back down the driveway and my truck was gone. I

never heard anything. Nothing at all. Alan was stunned, the truck

represented his livelihood but, much worse, Nicky was in the back.

Normally I am very calm but I was very concerned for my dog. And we

immediately got into one of the fans, we went looking. But the

manner the truck had already got away. And he was stuck with a dog he

did not want. I was so frightened that they would put out somewhere or

whatever. We knew this was a race against time. Alan was losing the

race because the thief did not care what happened to Nicky. Get out!

Nicky was dumped by the heartless thief, all alone and wandering

around, looking for her owner. Getting desperate, Alan and his

friends turned to a social networking site in an attempt to

find her. We started to put this on to Facebook that day, after a couple

of hours. We hired a large response from people that the dog was on the

motorway. We raced to the motorway. At about 2pm. But it was too late.

The emergency calls had come in, reporting there was a dog wandering

on the motorway. I want to report a dog walking on the hard shoulder.

was Nicky. And she had been dumped near the M4, the busiest road in

Wales. It was only a matter of time. What happens next is too

distressing to show. Nicky was hit by a truck. The dog warden rang me

and said she had been killed and would I like to see her but I could

not. Her death had a profound effect on Alan. Looking back, it was

devastating. The first week she went, I put food down for her every

night. It was very hard to get out of the way of things you normally

do. To have somebody's vehicle stolen isn't Shelley bad enough but

the vehicle and property can be replaced. However, the dog followed

and went everywhere with Mr Thomas and it is quite an emotional crime

as well. And obviously, the people responsible, we need to bring them

to justice. I would challenge anyone not to feel better about the people

that did that. You can get past that what you would like to stop them

doing this to anyone else or make sure they do go to jail for what

they do. If they had only tied my dog to a lamp post, that would have

been two minutes. The truck was eventually find about on the Swansea

enterprise Park on the 19th of April. If you leave people like that

idea, they would just do it to somebody else. They will have

heartache and loss. And the impact on their lives. I will never get

Nicky back. I would pay to have her back. But she was gone before the

day. It is a terribly sad story and police think those thieves were

driving around in their truck for up to three days. Sgt Stuart Johnson

joins me. People must have seen them? The vehicle was quite

distinctive, it had a large carbon and also it had the logo of home and

garden written on it. I'm sure somebody had seen that. And you want

people to get in touch to help catch those thieves? Definitely. To jog

your memory, this truck was taken one day before Lady Thatcher 's

funeral so if you saw it driving around the Swansea area at that

time, get in touch. There is some positive because Alan has had a lot

of committees get in touch when they heard about that? Yes, people were

crying on the phone, we had 5000 people on Facebook. All trying to

locate my truck. That was very heartening for you. Particularly one

person who heard about your plight and they brought Toby to you. This

new dog. He is absolutely gorgeous. We saw him in the reconstruction. He

was also found alongside a motorway. Thank fully, he was rescued and

saved. And he is your new pet? He won't replace Nicky but it is

good to have some company? I could not be without a dog, my dog within

one week because I missed her so much. Toby is gorgeous. And very

well-behaved! Thank you very much. And it is nice to end on a positive

note. Just time to give you some updates on what has been coming in,

calls on robbery in the store were 71-year-old Margaret Griffiths

fought back against those blogs. Some of them suggested, police are

looking about. And a call from a police officer with a very strong

lead on one of these CCTV items, those women using that distraction

technique. Hopefully that leads to something. Possible sightings of one

of those wanted faces, number four, western Paris. Hopefully he will get

fired very soon. -- he will get fired. Tomorrow, I will be up the

road, meeting the longest serving police force in South Wales. He will

be policing the Rhianna concert and we will find out about his training

to cope with those very big crowds. All sounds very good, remember, you

can see all of those CCTV clips on the website. Also online, those