Episode 10 Crimewatch Roadshow

It's Friday, we're live for the last time this

With your help we can put some more baddies behind bars.

Today, the have-a-go pensioner who sent two

I wasn't prepared to hit anybody but I can defend myself.

In my sock. more than they bargained for.

more help from you this morning to crack unsolved crimes.

The cycling enthusiast who had just replaced their stolen bikes, only to

be targeted again. For them to be stolen a second time, we could not

leave it. And a groundbreaking technique

that can tell if you've had a It's our last day with Wales'

biggest police force and the Roadshow team is gearing up for

the weekend on the Gower peninsula. Morning Rav we're in Rhossili Bay,

its beach was voted number one in the UK and attracts thousands

of holiday makers every year. Today we'll be finding out how

the police and emergency services First this morning, the 84-year-old

have-a-go hero who took It is so annoying to have stuff

stolen. It really is. This is my shop, I work hard in here. Who knows

what they could do if they felt too threatened. This is a seaside town

just near Cardiff. This shop has been owned by Dennis for 25 years.

It is now run by his son but 84-year-old Dennis still plays his

part. I still feel I am a Mac member of the store, if I didn't, I would

retire. I feel like I am needed. It is nice to feel needed and I carry

on. By 9pm on Sunday evening on the 1st of June, things were quiet. By

that time of the evening we are winding down. The last hour can be

quite slow. I am in the back doing various things. I heard Sam, who has

worked here for just over a year, calling. I realised from the sound

of his voice something was seriously wrong. Two masked men had burst

through the door and jumped over-the-counter. One brandished a

wheel wrench and the other threatened the shop assistant with a

knife will stop one of them grabbed cigarettes and the other tried to

break into the till. Hearing the commotion, Dennis came out from the

back of the shop. When I got to the bottom, I could see two men behind

the counter. All in black, faces covered. Others might have

retreated, but not Dennis. He confronted them. He said, give as

the money. I said, sarcastically, yes, certainly. He said, I have got

a knife. Knife or no knife, Dennis had no intention of letting them

have anything and not the stolen cigarettes to the floor. They had

picked on the wrong shop. Obviously at my age I don't want anything

physical. I wasn't prepared to hit anybody but I can defend myself will

stop the man holding a wheel wrench lashed out at the 84-year-old

shopkeeper. Then his son, Mark came down the aisle. AIK think they

thought then, we are at -- I think they thought they were outnumbered

and ran away. Dennis had got the better of them. I was gasping like a

fish. I am slightly asthmatic and I was gasping a bit. This could have

been worse. Dennis was lucky to have escaped with nothing more than

bruising. Even though what he did was brave, it is what we call a gut

reaction to what was happening. The member of staff behind the counter,

when he was spoken to afterwards, was in shock. Although the men were

wearing masks, someone might recognise them from this CCTV

footage. Their clothing is quite distinctive, especially one whose

top appears to have white paint splattered across the top of it.

This is a serious crime. We are keen to find them. We are appealing for

anybody to come forward who may be able to help. In the aftermath of

the attack, Dennis has been left Moore said than angry. I loathe the

thought of teenagers having been stupid enough to attempt something

like that. And also carrying offensive weapons even if they did

not seem to know what to do with them, places them in another

category and the thought of them going to prison for a long time is

horrifying. Dennis decided to tackle these robbers and you would not

advise that? No, he is 84 years of age, but don't get involved with

these people, think of your own personal safety. What do you know of

the two men? Two males, aged between 17 and 19 years. We have a witness

we want to speak to. Seen on the CCTV entering the shop as they have

left. We need that person to come forward. That witness did see the

robbers as they left? Yes, we can piece it together. You think it

could link to an earlier robbery? At 1030 a.m. In April, there was a

similar attack when the person responsible was wearing a

distinctive jacket. They are being investigated together. If you can

help, do get in touch. Make sure you pick up the phone.

Some network and mobile operators will charge.

You'll be charged at your standard message rate.

For more than 100 years police have been using fingerprints

But scientists at Sheffield Hallam University have discovered that

the unique patterns on the tips of our fingers can reveal a lot

Now I know from my time in the force that quite often only

Yes that's right and if you take a look through the microscope now

I'm sure you'll be able to tell me the difference between the two?

This is the sort of thing the lab would not be too happy with me

because it is blurred and a bit missing. They would not be happy

with that for identification purposes, but your research is

proving you can get a lot of information from something like

that? Yes, we have technology which enables you to detect the chemistry

in the finger rinse. Very interesting. You will show us some

examples. We have three images. What is the top one? This is one mark of

one suspect. It is a real crime scene Mark. What we have done with

the second one, we can detect multiple spaces in one analysis. On

the top panel we can see a fatty acid which we all have in sweat. I

have superimposed them ocular image on this one. Tell others what you

have discovered? The other chemical we have discovered is cocaine. You

have gone one step further on the bottom one? We found the presence of

the cocaine metabolite of them. It tells us immediately the suspect has

not just touched cocaine but in Jess did it. So the person who left the

market has taken cocaine? Absolutely and that

market has taken cocaine? Absolutely scenario. You have tried this on

food? Yes, I drank a cup of coffee and after ten minutes I could see a

clear signal for caffeine. So it is not just what you have touch, what

is coming out? And that our medical implications? We have started

determining the sex of offenders through the unit chemistry. One of

our biggest ambitions is to look at medical conditions, again from

unique chemicals present in finger marks. I know the West Yorkshire

Police are trialling this. The Gower Peninsula is famous

for its rugged coastline. But this, with the constant

stream of holiday makers, means What are the main challengers? The

Gower Peninsula is an area of outstanding natural beauty and we do

get thousands of visitors every year. It is a low crime area but we

like to keep people safe. We work with other agencies to conduct

patrols of campsites and make sure people are safe, vigilant and not

committing any crime. We ensure people understand and they have

happy memories of visiting the Gower Peninsula and leave here safely.

Also dealing with missing people? Yes, there are a number of missing

people reported to us and we will work to provide the extra level of

service to locate those people and return them safely.

Well one of those agencies is the coastguard. If someone is found in a

tricky position then police call on their expertise to help rescue them.

Lee Haigh is from the Coastguard and for Crimewatch Roadshow this morning

we've got someone who needs rescuing from a tricky spot.

What is going on here? It is a training exercise. Typical thing we

are called to. Someone stuck on a clip, has fallen down, cut off by

the tide and has attempted to climb. We will come out with local

volunteers and they will come down and recover the person and take them

back to safety. Tell others about the kit you are using, how does it

work? We put the quad pod at the top of the cliff and it makes it easier

to descend and makes it safer and more comfortable when we get the

casualty back up. It is a slow walking movements because this is

someone who will have hurt themselves and cannot make it back

up themselves? They are in a position where they are very

frightened so it is controlled slow recovery. Something we are used to,

but something very alien to them to be walking back up. So we do it very

gently. Thanks for talking is through what is happening. Later in

the programme we will be seeing the top and to safety.

Here on Crimewatch Roadshow we've seen our fair share of criminals who

trick their victims into handing over cash under false pretences.

We went out with police in Newport as they tried to crackdown

These officers from Gwent Police are from operation rogue trader. A

national campaign targeting scrupulous people. This operation is

aimed at catching them out on the road. In an unmarked car, they are

hunting for any commercial vehicles that arouse suspicion. The car is

equipped with automatic number plate recognition. Two cameras on the car

to read the number plates of the cars travelling pastas are behind

us. We can check whether the vehicle has tax and insurance. Stuff like

that. We can turn around and go after that. A passing van has

triggered the system. It was a construction type vehicle. He

catches up with the van and pulls it over. We are

catches up with the van and pulls it over. doing an operation at the

moment. I am going to pull in front of you and I want you to follow me

to check site down the road. This is the check site, the vehicles and

their occupants will be investigated in detail. We have a number of

agencies looking at drivers, details, condition of the vehicle,

whether people are licensed to carry out elements of work and we will

take the details of people on board, gather intelligence. The fans are

coming in thick and fast and many are found to have serious effects. A

smashed window brought this truck to the attention of the police. Now an

inspector is checking the tyres. That has been over the legal limit

for a long time. It is not over half of what we require. Any vehicles in

poor shape are taken off the road until the owner makes the necessary

repairs. They use these vehicles on a daily basis and some of the

defects are dangerous, which could result in a serious accident.

Officers on patrol thought that this red van was being driven erratically

and they pulled it into the check site. Although the aim of the

operation is to disrupt rogue trading, this time they suspect

something different and they bring in the sniffer dog. Anything on you

that you should not have? Drugs. Cannabis. Where on the drugs --

whereon you are the drugs can make in your sock? Please bend down. We

have recovered the quantity of cannabis and a quantity of a white

substance which are believed to be amphetamines. He has been arrested

on suspicion of possession of controlled drugs. The driver later

received a caution for possession of cannabis and amphetamines.

Meanwhile, there has been a development with the first catch. It

turns out the driver is not insured to drive the van. At this moment, I

am reporting you for driving without insurance. You do not have to say

anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention no

something upon which you later rely on in court. Do you understand? The

driver is fined ?300 on the spot and gets six points on his licence. The

van is seized and impounded. So far, it has been a busy morning for

everyone involved in the operation and it has turned up a lot more than

just traffic offences. Intelligence has been gathered for Trading

Standards. The Department of Work and Pensions have found numerous

people who appear to be working whilst claiming benefits. As a rogue

trader operation, it is very successful.

Now we left you with a bit of a cliff hanger earlier as the

coastguard set about rescuing our casualty from the cliffside. The

rescue is coming along well, I hope, isn't it Lee Haigh?

Yes, the casualty is coming up with a technician, being brought back

into safety. He will be checked over and then he can go on his way if we

are happy. It is a time-consuming process. A great many ropes and a

huge team involved. Where do these people come from? They are from the

local Rhossili area, local volunteers. They do not get paid for

this. They do this as a servers to the community. They all carry a

pager and when it goes off, become and do this type of thing. And what

sort of training today need to? They train every week in various aspects

of the duties they have to carry out. To make sure they are appeared

to come out when it is actually needed. And they have stopped at the

moment, from what I've see, why is that? What do they need to do before

they can come further up you might we use a pulley system for the

recovery, we have got wenches as well but we like to do it this way

because it is quiet. And we feel it is safer. If we need to stop in a

hurry, it is instantaneous. Depending on the height, we may need

to reset the device. And you have been using this for 23 years. Is

there any particular rescue that sticks in the memory? We are a busy

team here and we have had several commendations but the one that

sticks in my mind is when we had to make teenage girls who were stuck on

up fine but when the technician went up fine but when the technician went

over to the second, she fell off a cliff and he caught her in his arms.

over to the second, she fell off a Well, that is a happy ending. Are

there any parts of the course line that are too tricky to get to?

there any parts of the course line really. The guys have been born and

bred in the village so they know the area intimately. They will always do

their very best to get to any part of the area. We can see the casualty

coming to the top of the cliff. It of the area. We can see the casualty

disorientated, if of the area. We can see the casualty

it to the top. The next stage will be first aid? Yes, we will

it to the top. The next stage will them back to a point of safety and

the guys are first aid trained. They will check them out and if they had

any injuries, we would have a paramedic standing by to treat them.

any injuries, we would have a If needed, we can put

any injuries, we would have a over the cliff to deliver medical

aids down there. And a happy ending hereto. I'm off to get some tea and

biscuits. Now, a handgun, a stolen bank card

and a man stealing makeup. It's all been caught on CCTV but do you

recognise anyone? London, March this year. Two people

are working in the cashier is offers of a supermarket when there is a

knock on the door. The door is opened and three men armed with a

handgun and a metal pole burst in. They hustle the staff members into

the corner of the room and force the young woman to open the safe. And

they are not hanging around. In fact, they're so busy shopping

receipts and cash into a carrier bag that they leave the gun on the desk.

But it is snapped up by one of the robbers before all three bundle out

of the room. This violent gang stole ?10,000 in cash. Do you recognise

these men beneath their masks? You know what you have to do?

October last year and two thieves are working this bank in Leicester

City centre. They hang around the branch before spotting a potential

victim. An 81-year-old woman. While she bends down to get her bank card,

they make their move. Peering over her shoulders as she types in her

pin. Having got it, believe the bank together. But the man is impatient

to know why the elderly lady is taking so long. So he goes back in

to check where she is. Police say the victim's debit card was stolen

later on and used to take out cash and buy a mobile phone in the city

centre, totalling nearly ?700. This peer needs to be caught now. Give us

a call. This shoplifter has got some cheek.

Bold as brass, he strolls into a high-street chemist in London and

pockets cosmetics from the shelves. Take a look, as he starts items down

his trousers. He even drops one. Clumsy. Subtlety is not his strong

point. When he runs out of hands, he uses his mouth. That is when he is

spotted by the cashier is. He heads to the till, but he has not got any

intention of paying. He swaggered out of the shop with 200 quid's

worth of goods. We would be made up if you named him.

Any of that lot look familiar? If so, get in touch. And there are

still plenty of opportunities for you to turn detective this morning.

We need to track down the crooks living it up in the sunshine after

Still to come, the shopkeeper desperate to be reunited with a very

special pirates. -- parrots. Earlier in the programme, we saw the police

helicopter scrambled to get our. It's one of the main ways police

here can find missing people. PC Alan Frost is at the controls

this morning. It's an impressive looking machine, what sort of things

do you do? People are found in the area,

especially on this coastline. We use various bits of kit on the aircraft

to locate them. The main bit of kit is the HD camera, containing a

lowlight camera, a zoom camera, and the infrared thermal camera. It is

an expensive bit of kit, ?750,000. But when used properly, it is

fantastic. Let's look inside. A small area, but packed with

equipment. It is indeed. All the pilots instruments are there, and

the police officer will be in the back. A touch-screen system, and an

inflatable rescue device that we can deploy from the aircraft to assist

people in difficulty. And we have some CCTV footage that we can show

of a recent operation looking for a missing person. Yes. A 84-year-old

man was missing in the Swansea area and a number of police officers

attempted to locate him at 1am. The aircraft attended and managed to

locate him within a reasonable amount of time. He was located safe

and well, lying next to a shopping trolley. He had obviously, if he had

been there for longer, he could have been in trouble. But he went to

hospital and he was OK. On the other side of the helicopter, there is

some other kit, almost in parallel with the camera. That is the light

sensor device. It lights up a football field at night time. It

will mean enhanced safety for police officers and members of the public

who may be trying to be found. You have alluded to some of the cost

already. It costs a lot just to keep this in the air. It is an extensive

item. It is approximately ?1000 an hour to keep the aircraft in the

air. But then again, it enhances the safety of not only the police

officers but the thousands of visitors we get to the region every

year. Thank you for the guided tour. Back to you, Rav.

For a lot of people holidays mean hobbies, and that's true for the

couple who were targeted in our next crime. The cycle mad duo enjoyed

getting out on their bikes, until thieves put the brakes on.

We would like to stay in this house but it does not feel the same any

more. It is just a horrible feeling, that somebody is watching

you. For Joe and any Lucas, cycling is a way of life. We met 56 years

ago. Joe used to cycle every weekend, so we thought -- I thought

if I wanted to see him, I needed to get a bike. Every holiday, we take

the bikes to France, Portugal, Italy, Ireland. We got engaged in

Ireland. It is a big part of our life. The bikes were high-tech and

expensive but cycling took a back seat when the couple's first child

was born. To make way for the family, the bikes were locked in a

shared outside. On the evening of the 8th of January, three men got

into the back garden. In the house, Amy was alone with Tommy. IK Kim

upstairs to have a gaffe and get ready. -- I took him upstairs. The

men broke the lock on the shed and insight, founded the three bikes

locked together. They were able to carry them out of the garden without

being spotted. Got home from work at 7:00pm and I saw that the gate was

open. And went along the side passage to the back garden and both

doors were wide open. My heart dropped. It was an immediate

horrible feeling, knowing that my wife and son were in the house. It

made me really angry. One of the bikes was particularly special to

Joel. It was the first bike and had a Chibok second-hand, which are

wrote from San Francisco to Los Angeles with a friend. It was my

dream bike. You never thought I would have a bike like that. Why

would have kept it forever and hopefully Tommy could have written

it when he was older. Joe and Amy replaced the bikes and instead of

putting them in the shed, they kept them in the house. But they were

storm at safer. When it happened again, it was devastating. It seems

that someone is watching us and they know that we have these bikes. We

are not able to keep them here, which is horrible. On the morning of

the 27th of April, Joe and Amy woke up to find that the three

replacement bikes had been taken when their van had been broken into.

For the bikes to be stolen a second time within four months, we could

not believe it. Joe and Amy are not the only ones. Criminals will often

return once stolen items have been replaced. Regular thieves are aware

of the procedures involved with insurance and they will wait and

target vulnerable victims for a second time. Joe and Amy now feel

vulnerable and are thinking of taking drastic action. I do not feel

safe in the house any more. I do not want to move but it seems like the

only option at the moment. Many victims of crime feel very similar

to Joel and Amy. It is an intrusion on their perceived. Unfortunately,

their confidence in their property can be destroyed. If it is dark

outside, my stomach is twisted in knots. It is unsettling for all of

us. It is not a nice thing. Especially when you have such a

young baby. Is it common that somebody to be targeted twice?

Unfortunately it is not uncommon. Once they have been once, the

thieves know what they are looking for and can return. These are

specific bikes that were stolen? Yes, six bikes between January and

April this year. We know bike crime is a growing concern to the police

because in the last year it has gone up why 60% and in Cardiff it is 20%.

You have some CCTV that demonstrates this? The CCTV shows how easy it

is. Cable cutters or brute force alone. Sports facilities, university

buildings, these facilities are very vulnerable. Lots of places bring

their bikes on holiday. Lock your bike to something immovable. That is

great advice. In keeping with this holiday vibe we are asking for your

help to find some fugitives who think they can evade justice while

topping up their tan. We have the National Crime Agency to explain.

Many criminals think they can go to Spain and go on the run and evade

capture. Some are choosing to go further afield? Yes, our role is to

protect the public from serious organised and we work with

international partners and the public to track down British

fugitives. We have had some success, but we are finding Spain,

which used to be the destination of choice has been taken over by places

like the Netherlands and Cyprus. Give us some of the figures. In the

last few years we have tracked down and arrested and bring back to the

UK, 74 out of 110 most serious and organised criminals. Three more we

are looking at today. Let's start with this first one.

James Tarrant has been convicted of possessing cocaine and heroin and

the possession of a firearm. OK, what about him? A 70-year-old man

originally from Limassol in Cyprus. We think he is in Cyprus. He has

been conveyed did not differ ordering 20,000 members of the

British public and has made ?4 million from his criminal ventures.

Stephen Blondel. Sometimes calls himself Stephen Owen. We believe he

is in Spain. Has been convicted of supplying heroin, up and down the

West Coast of the UK. They need to be brought back for justice. With

your help we can get this lot out of the sunshine. But a couple of them

could be dangerous, so don't approach them. You can call those

using the numbers on screen. Now to the raiders who broke into a

Newport pet shop and made off with thousands of pounds worth of hand

reared parrots. We are constantly worried, every

time we come in in the morning, what we will find. We have nightmares. It

has been a labour of love. For seven years, Sue Coomb has worked day and

night building her business and for her and her partner, it is much more

than a pet shop. Each and every bird are our baby birds. On the evening

of April the 15th, staff lot. As usual leaving the takings in the

tail. But just a few hours later, the doors were forced open. A

timestamp on the till receipt indicates it was opened at 2:38am

when the contents were emptied. The thieves cleared the shelves before

turning their attention to more lucrative stock. I know they tried

to get the cockatoo because they left one of the cages on the side

and the door wide open and the food bowl on the floor. They tried to

entice him. But the thieves were successful in bagging a nonvenomous

rat snake and add valuable breeding pair of African grey parrots. On the

business side it is going to cost thousands of pounds we cannot afford

to lose. It has had a massive effect on them and their confidence and in

the security of the store. It is a small business and they cannot

afford to take the loss. But the financial cost has not been as hard

to bear than John Snow, the African breeding bird. His ten, she may

never breed again. We could put her with another male, but we could lose

thousands of pounds a year in babies. They will have frightened

him, he will not have known what was happening. Now she is anxious it

could happen again. I am constantly worried in the day, when we lock up.

Constantly worried when we come in in the morning, what we will find.

She did say she would either move or pack it in altogether. She cannot

deal with any loss again. The value that was taken amounted to more than

?2000 but the theft has had an effect beyond money. On the

emotional side of it, stealing dog bowls and dog leads is one thing,

but when they steal pet birds, they don't have a clue of the impact. We

have used social media, put messages out on Facebook if anybody is trying

to sell these parrots or the snake. John Snow is the one I want to get

back. It is very hard. Your mind is constantly thinking, where is he?

Mainly I am thinking, is he still alive? We would be over the moon to

have him back where he belongs. We know him, we know his character. He

is our bird, he belongs to others. If you can help on that, get in

touch. We have seen a cliff rescue, the police helicopter now let's turn

out to deceive. We have come to the lock-out and with me is Audrey

Frank, one of an army of 50 volunteers. We don't take our eyes

off it, unless we're looking at people on the cliff. Sometimes it is

people popping in and out of this lookout but you get involved with

rings generally? We watch for anything, boats, fishing vessels,

pleasure craft, surfers, fishermen. Our major concern, we watch the

tidal island where people head off to make sure they don't get stuck.

We have a notice board giving the times, there is a five-hour gap you

can walk out there and we hope they come back in time and don't have to

be rescued. We have not had anybody rescued this year, but in years gone

by, we have had people who have had. We report to the Coast Guard and the

Coast Guard deploy who they think necessary, so that involves the

cliff rescue, the lifeboat. Sometimes the helicopter. Thanks the

showing me around in here. It is a small area where many members of the

team have to work because they are operational for most of the time.

But they have had a break in themselves so they have been the

victims of crime. But they have been working with many agencies and one

of the agencies is the RNLI. Jeff, you have a walkie-talkie, give the

message because there is a boat on the water? Very well. Lifeboat,

over. They are very busy this time of year? Extremely, this time of the

year. Hopefully involved in more safety than anything else. A, out.

They are very busy. Many sea kayaks and a big increase in the number of

those incidents we know you have had to be called out here. We know you

have read training operation and sometimes on live television, it

does interrupt. And before we go, we've got some

updates on a couple of cases we've You may remember our appeal

for information on the suspected arson in Roath in

Cardiff from Wednesday's programme. South Wales Police tell us they

have since arrested a man. This wanted face -

Maxwell Michael Parsons. He was sentenced in his absence for

a sophisticated fraud which cost the Well, great news -

he's now in custody He'll be transferred to prison to

start We have been sent some promising new

leads of the armed robbery at a jewellers in Leeds. They are chasing

that up as we speak. Now Sian, your wheels are rolling

again, where are you heading next? Rav we're got a lot of travelling to

do between now and Monday morning. We're off to the North East

of England where we'll be out on the roads with Cleveland Police,

who have a brand new approach to spotting dangerous drivers -

from the cab of an HGV. For more details

on today's programme head to the website Finally,

we'll leave you with another look at Somebody out there knows where these

people are - if you do, call us.