Episode 3 Crimewatch Roadshow

for your call. This month we are out on the road with the police and we

need you to help them tackle criminals. Annette and Ian lost

their daughter Kay to cancer. Now fees have taken photographs of her.

We are under cover of an operation to cut white crime in Manchester.

You are watching Crimewatch Roadshow. Welcome. This is the

programme that takes you on the front line with the police and tells

you what you need to know about crooks. Coming up. The couple

attacked in their own home by thieves searching for gold. We feel

secure in the same house. I never thought it could happen in England.

It is called courier fraud, the elaborate scam based on one simple

trick. I am furious at being taken in and hope the police can get onto

it and get it stopped as soon as possible. It is our last day with

Greater Manchester Police and Sian is at the National Cycling Centre in

the city. Welcome to be very impressive BMX track at the home of

British competitive cycling. In the Velodrome next door, some of the

UK's elite cyclists are practising for the Commonwealth Games. As the

sport is hugely popular now, we are looking at bike theft and what

police are doing to tackle it. Burglaries are often deeply

distressing for victims, but for a family from Rochdale, a break-in has

been especially traumatic. We went upstairs. It was terrible.

Everything had been opened up and tipped out. Everything is just

memories, that have been taken. These days Stansfield and her

husband Ian have few photographs of their daughter Sharon, who became

ill in January 2010. She had a lump on her neck and was sent to the

local hospital. They did a biopsy which came back clear. And then she

had a lump under her arm. Sharon was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's

lymphoma. She died in 2013. They did not think she would make the night.

We stayed with her from Tuesday to Mother's Day, when she passed away.

She was bubbly and a good friend to people. As well as my daughter, she

was my best friend. A year later, the couple decided a driving holiday

to Spain was a break they badly needed. You cannot forget, but we

were trying to make a new start. The holiday was interrupted by a phone

call from a neighbour, their home had been burgled and the couple were

faced with a three-day drive to get home to Rochdale. We went upstairs.

It was terrible. Everything had been opened up, tipped out. We found a

night in the bedroom. -- knife. Was it to frighten someone off, or, if

we had been in bed, with they have used it? Now, when it goes dark, I

am terrible. The couple discovered that many items stolen had belonged

to their daughter. There were her things, which we had literally

brought back, jewellery she had tonnes of, a lot of it worth

nothing, but, to ask, it was worth a lot. She had bought me a Radley

handbag when she was ill. She drove to get me something nice for

Christmas. That had gone. And a watch I bought when she first

started the treatment. It was a Morgan watch. That has gone. Two

laptops and cameras containing photographs of Sharon were taken by

the callous thieves. We have never been a family to bother about

material things. It is more about feelings. She would say, stop

bothering about that, you and dad think about yourselves and get on

with things. But we find it difficult. Police say the home was

one of a number targeted that night. All of the premises were vacant and

all of the occupants were on holiday, so I believe the premises

was targeted. It is never nice. A burglary is a personal crime. To

have somebody come into your house, trawling through your property and

stealing hoppity belonging to you is not nice. Everything is just

memories, that have been taken. They cannot steal your memories. But it

is nice to see things. It is very difficult for the couple to cope

with this and I am joined by Sergeant Graham Cook. We think there

are people out there who know who has done this? I think the offenders

will have spoken to friends and family and might have offered the

stolen items. I appeal to anyone to come forward. There are four items

of sentimental value. The first is a black Morgan watch with a black

metal clasps and stones around the centre of the strap. The second is a

dark blue Radley handbag. The third is a long gold necklace. The final

one is a black bracelet with two charms. One is in the shape of a dog

and the other in the shape of a diamond. Do you think someone saw

the thieves? We believe they were disturbed. When the officers

arrived, there was a vehicle with the television from the house in the

back of the car. We believe they were disturbed committing the

offence. This is distressing for the family. If you can help, please call

us. And now time for wanted faces. Let's start with 38-year-old

Edward Hill. Officers in Cleveland want to speak

to him in connection with a conspiracy to supply almost 80 kilos

of amphetamine He has connections to the Liverpool area and is described

as having a boxer's nose. He has a scar on his left wrist

and another on his eyebrow. Next is this man,

33-year-old Courtney Smith. He was jailed for seven years

for drug dealing He has failed to stick to

the conditions of that release He was sentenced to seven years

in prison in April this year for a sophisticated fraud which cost the

banking industry over ?2.5 million. He failed to turn up for

sentencing and is now on the run. He is also wanted

for another banking fraud for which he was sentenced to three

years in his absence in February. Parsons is described

as easily agitated and has connections in the Manchester,

West Midlands, Nottinghamshire, Last up is this man. He was released

early from prison on licence but failed to stick to the conditions

and is wanted back in prison. He has a tad too of a woodlouse and another

of blue dots on the left wrist. He has a two inch scar on the side of

his neck and has links to the Stoke-on-Trent area, Kidsgrove in

particular. If you recognise them, pick up the telephone. Telephone

calls are free from most landlines but some networks and operators will

charge for these. You can also send a text at the standard rate. And you

can send an e-mail. Still to come. Very unsportsmanlike. Who is this

thief stealing from changing rooms while the teams are on the pitch?

This indoor BMX track is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe. We

have impressive skills on display as well as toddlers starting out. All

of the abilities under one roof. Where you have bicycles, you have

people who want to steal them. We can find out more from Chief

Inspector Patrick McKelvey. How much is bike theft problem? Last year it

was a problem in Manchester city centre with a lot of bicycles being

stolen, quite expensive ones as well. Our expensive bikes a

particular target? To some, but most people are opportunists who will

take the bicycle with the cheapest lock. We have done some work in the

city and theft is down by 20%. Some people will be able to tell what is

expensive. All sorts of bikes get stolen. We have four. I will look at

them and see if I can see which is the most expensive. I do not have

any particular skill. This is a light looking bike. I imagine it is

a racing bike and could be expensive. This second one is shiny

and looks great. Next to that, we have a bright green bike, with quite

a few bits on it. have a bright green bike, with quite

a few bits I am sure it would be popular with many people. And that

one on the end, it is a gorgeous yellow bike, a children's bike. I am

guessing the red shiny by? That is not right. The first bike, the frame

itself is worth more than the three others put together. The first has

no brakes and gears and is specialised. It is worth up to

?2500. I did not know what I was talking about, but many being stolen

will stop you have become an expert in this. I am getting there! We have

a bicycle guide, to let officers know how to identify bicycles and

the value of them. Bicycles can go up to ?15,000. If officers see a

person known to be a criminal with not much income who is on a bicycle

worth ?3000, we need to speak to them. Later, come back to us,

because we have been out with the police as they tried to catch these

thieves red-handed. We can look at crooks caught on camera. This lot

have been getting up to some nasty stuff. January, 2014. The faces of

the men are concealed as they walk into a south London shop. Two of

them look around the store while the third stands and stares menacingly

at the shopkeeper. He tells them they cannot come into the shop with

faces covered, but they take no notice. Realising he will be

raided, the shopkeeper tries to defend himself by closing the gate

to the counter. The robber produces what appears to be half a snooker

cue and attacks him. The shopkeeper grabs a wooden pole and takes cover

as the three have items, including glass bottles from the Cabinet. The

shopkeeper fights back and clashes with one of them, before they flee

from the store. Help us to catch this vicious gang.

Trouble is brewing in the Wiltshire town of Warminster. Things turned

ugly when a man in a long-sleeved top and jeans hits and off duty

soldier. It really kicks off and the victim is punched twice more in the

face before he falls to the ground. Police say he suffered a fractured

jaw. Pick up the phone if you can help. This is nasty. It is early

morning in Cardiff, in February. A young man is followed by a violent

gang. The streets are almost deserted. As he turns the corner, he

sees two young men closing in. He turns to face them and is punched

several times, before a third attacker arrives. From close range,

he holds an object at the victim's face and then launches his own

attack. The Victor An is thrown on the ground by a fourth man and is

completely at the mercy of the gang. As he reels from the blows, a fourth

man delivers the vicious final punch. Incredibly, he manages to

walk away from the attack. We cannot let these cowards get away with it.

You know what you need to do. We are with the cyclists at the

National Cycling Centre and some pretty impressive skills on display.

Police have patrols operating in this area. There are very expensive

bicycles on show. Jacob is a cyclist. Six times British champion.

You lost a bike that was stolen? I had a prototype BMX bike. I was due

to give it back a couple of days later. I did a race at this venue

and unfortunately was followed home and had the bike stolen from

and unfortunately was followed home and had a lot shared.

and unfortunately was followed home and had a lot It was the only one in

the world. Totally gutted. Had to buy a new bike. And it cost me a lot

of money. So is it something you are now more aware of? Definitely. I

have put double the amount of locks. The shared even has an alarm on it

now. I am doing my best to make sure it does not happen again. We will be

out with the police as they set a trap for the thieves.

Caught on camera, a bike thief in action. He makes a quick getaway,

but does not realise he has stolen a decoy bike, and officers have been

lying in wait to catch thieves like him. Today, we are joining an

undercover operation to catch the criminals who think bikes are an

easy target. We will be putting a decoy bike out into the city centre.

It is a hotspot area, which we class as somewhere where we have had a few

bikes stolen in the last week. Manchester City centre has been a

prime location for bike theft, despite its extensive CCTV coverage.

But the sting operations help to reduce the problem. Last year, we

had 638 bikes stolen. But in the last few months, we have seen that

drastically reduced. So it is coming down. Rachel briefs her team on the

plan for today's operation. We will be at the junction of market street

and Pall mall. If I could then ask Scott and care of the goal up the

junction of Pall Mall. The undercover officers get into

position and a decoy bike, worth ?400,000, is locked on to the rack

-- worth ?4000 full up we are trying to be as covert as possible, so they

don't see us. The last thing we want to do is have them see us, because

they will walk away and we will not catch them. Now the officers just

have to wait. And for two hours, no one takes the bait. Then at the

bottom of the screen, two men can be seen showing an interest. One seems

to kick the tires, whilst the other takes a closer look. These labs that

have been hanging around the bike rack have just walked past, so we

are watching to see if they go back and approach the bike. It is a tense

time. It is just waiting now for them to come back. The duo hang

around for a time, but eventually decide to move on. So for Rachel and

her team, it is back to waiting and watching. 40 minutes go by, and it

looks like no one is going to take the bait. But just when the team are

due to give up, they spot a man loitering nearby. He steps up to the

bike. The team stand-by. The lock has been broken, and the team go in.

The officers spotted him hanging around the bike rack. Then he took

the chain off the bike. We are going to look and see whether he cut it

off all pulled it off. It is a result. He stole one of our bikes.

It could easily have been a member of the public's bike that he could

have taken, so it is good that he was arrested. Before he is loaded

into the police van for a trip to the station, the bike thief is

searched, and further evidence is found. We found two pairs of wires

on him. When we looked at the bike lock that was used to secure the

cycle, he cut it with the pliers. So he has been arrested for theft of a

cycle, but he will also be arrested for having these pliers on him. He

is going to the police station now, where he will be interviewed in

relation to what has happened and he will be shown the CCTV footage. Then

a decision will be made on whether he gets charged. The man later

pleaded guilty to the theft of the bike. He is due to be sentenced next

month. Well, one bike thief brought to

justice, but we saw in that film how easy it is to cut through some bike

locks. PCS US -- PCSOs Curtis Paris will demonstrate that for us now.

While he does that let's chat Ted Gordon, who runs the cycle shop at

the centre. It is amazing how quickly some people can get through

these locks? Yes, it does not take long to get through some of the

cheaper locks. They are not exciting things to buy, so people do not

spend much money on them, but it can be costly. What is your advice on

which locks to use? Speak to your insurance company and make sure you

get a policy that will cover you if it goes wrong. Don't be afraid to

spend a decent amount of money on a lock. Some of these will cost to

?200, but if the bike is worth a few thousand, it is worth it. Let's look

at the lock on that green bike. It looks very expensive. That is

something we have taken from the motorcycle world. Some bikes are in

the same cost bracket as motorbikes, so spending that amount

of money on a lock is not unreasonable. It is a hardened steel

chain with a padlock, which is based on a more familiar D-lock system.

They are incredibly strong and it would take serious power to remove

it. That Lott has now been removed by Curtis, and he got through it in

a matter of seconds, because we have in talking for a minute. What about

this one? This one is more common, the D-lock. It is a much more solid

system than the one we saw Curtis remove. Solid steel is always better

than a flexible cable. We recommend that, especially somewhere like

Manchester. Some tips for you at home.

The value of gold has rocketed over the last ten years, and criminals

have been quick to cash in. Some are even targeting Asian families, who

occasionally keep old at home, especially during religious

festivals or weddings. One family were subject to a violent attack.

Massoud Ahmed and his wife Nusram have lived in their home in Bamford,

near Rochdale, 411 years. This is one of the best years, the posh area

of Rochdale. If this is not safe, where can anyone be safe?

TRANSLATION: I used to feel confident leaving the door open

while I was in the kitchen. When I knew my kids were coming home, I

would open the door. Nothing like this has happened before. It was

around six o'clock. Me and the Mrs was sitting here in this room. TV

was on, lights were on. And I heard the bang. I knew something was going

to happen. Three masked men raced into their home, grabbing the

couple. I started facing them, having a fight with them. And my

wife was shouting as well, but there was nothing coming out from our

voice. It was like a nightmare. The intruders had smashed their way

through the patio doors, leaving glass everywhere. The glass was on

the floor and glass started going through my feet. I was still trying

to resist as much as I could. He strangled me round the neck, and

held me down near the sofa. And blood was coming out of my feet. The

gang seemed convinced that the couple owned valuable 24 carat

gold, often called Asian gold. They were shouting only for one thing.

Where is your gold, where is your cash? Tell me! My wife said, I don't

like gold. You can see my arms, I am not wearing any gold. They refused

to believe there was no gold. Two of the men forced Nusram upstairs.

Massoud was held downstairs, fearing the worst for his wife. That was

really the worst time of my life. She was upstairs and I was thinking,

oh, God, maybe they will do her something, you know. There might be

strangling her. I did not know what they were doing to her. But the

thieves only had one thing on their minds, searching for gold. As they

rifled through Nusram's costume jewellery, she managed to break

through and call for help. But within seconds, the men had grabbed

her again and dragged her back to the living room, where Masood was

putting up a fight. When I was giving him the cash from my pocket,

his grip was a bit loose around my neck, so I put him down. As soon as

I had given him a couple of punches, the guy from upstairs came and

started kicking. Desperate to protect Nusram, Masood told the gang

that the police were already on their way. I said, I have CCTV

cameras outside. And they are connected to the police. One of them

ran outside. He had a lot. -- Aluko. It was enough to scare the gang. Are

you OK? I have called the police. Hello, Mr Masood?

Police believe the robbery was carefully planned. They had targeted

that house, believing there was Asian gold inside. It is a

despicable crime, really nasty. They were subjected to unnecessary

violence in their own home. It left them terrified, distraught. We

suffered for eight minutes, but they were like eight years. I am very

upset. After that, we had sleepless nights, nightmares. Everything has

been happening. We feel very insecure in the same house. I never

thought it could happen in England. Detective Sergeant John Schofield is

with me. Do you have any idea who did this? Just before the incident,

three male voices were heard at the rear of the property, which is a bit

of a dirt track, not much there. So we are interested to speak to anyone

who may have seen these males. And in December, before the attack,

there was a man on the street, pretending to distribute leaflets.

So we would ask anyone who saw him to come forward. There is some CCTV.

Do you have descriptions of men? The three men were all described as

white males, all wearing generic black clothing and their faces were

covered. They were in their early twenties. One of them was quite

small and the other two had distinctive blue eyes. How can the

public help you with this? In these cases, it is common for people to

talk about it, whether it is about what they have done or the

aftermath. People can overhear that. This is the type of watch that was

stolen during the event. They might be wearing it or try to sell it.

Very upsetting for the family in this case. It has had an awful

impact on them to be attacked in their home the way they work, to the

extent where there is now a reward being offered of ?2000 if it leads

to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible. Quickly take

another look at that watch. If you have been offered anything like

that, get in touch. And there is a reward in this case.

We saw earlier how police are catching bike thieves, but now we

need your help to trace of different kind of sporting fifth. DI Warren

Atkinson is here now. The thief you are after has a unique way of

getting his way on other people's hoppity? When people are out playing

sport, whether it is football or rugby, he is busy stealing their

property from the changing rooms. Very cheeky. Where is he doing this?

Basically, he has committed offences at Preston grasshoppers and

Blackpool rugby club in March. And the university of central

Lancashire. Those were all rugby clubs, certainly not the sort of

people you would want to upset. And you have some good clues to go on?

You have got some CCTV we can see now. You can see the offender

walking into Preston grasshoppers at 9.40 in the morning. He is quite a

tall individual. Then you see him walking out again. Stinker backpack,

smart casual clothing. He does not seem bothered -- distinctive

backpack. That seems to be part of his MO? In this situation, he went

into the challenging -- changing rooms and was not challenged. He

purported to be a member of the home team on helping people onto the

pitch with physio equipment. He offered to look after the valuables

for the team, and took them away, never to return. And you don't think

it is localised to that area, he could have gone further afield? We

are aware of a spike in Birmingham in early December and have been made

aware of some offences in late April and early May in the Bristol and

Bath area. So he could be anywhere. You are asking B owners to be

vigilant? I am confident that he is using public transport, and he will

be cash rich, using the cash to put himself into B A loss of our

normal investigations suggest that. Travelling the country, paying cash.

Have a good look at him. Get in touch if you know where he is. If

you have information, get in touch. The number is on the screen. Now it

is time for the second batch of criminals captured by CCTV. We need

you to tell us who they are. There is one word to describe the next

crime, despicable. A woman walked into a high-street department store

in Burnley Lancashire. She approaches a 66-year-old woman in a

wheelchair, with her friend in the shoe section will stop while the

friends are distracted, she rummages through the Lady's handbag, hanging

from her wheelchair. She takes a purse containing ?50 and leaves. Do

you recognise this cowardly crook? Call us now if you do.

We are in Cannock town centre July last year. The motorbike pulls up on

the pavement and the rider leaves the engine running. He walks up an

alleyway to a greengrocer and knocks over an elderly woman as he rushes

behind the tills to snatch the staff wages. But they have been paid and

there is nothing to steal. An angry crowd chased him down the alleyway,

where police say he stabbed a man who tried to stop him will stop he

goes back to the mall -- back to the motorbike and tries to escape, but

the escape is almost foiled. Police say he was wearing a distinctive

laser Chameleon helmet and a jacket with the words "good ride".

These burglars are in luck. Finding the back door of a south London

pizza parlour open, they sneak inside. It does not take long to

find the office. Good fortune obviously follows them because when

they find a safe on the floor, bingo, it is unlocked. The man is

emptying the safe of cash and documents. His friend is in charge

of holding the bag. They steal ?345, tripping the security light as they

leave. But they are not bothered. They know luck is on their side.

Tell us who they are. We can take a look at a shocking

scam that swindled a 72-year-old pensioner out of ?107,000. What

happened, Richard? The victim was at home and approached by a cold caller

to do work on the driveway. He paid him and then he was contacted again,

offering a refund, but saying he would only get the refund if he paid

extra money. This went on for about 15 months. The amounts got bigger.

The victim believed all the reasons given why he needed to give more

money to get his money back. People will wonder how it went on for so

long. At the time, the victim wanted to believe what was happening and he

said the man was believable and seemed like a nice chat will stop he

wanted to believe he would get his money back -- seemed like a nice

man. We can talk about the description. He gave his name is

Howard. He is a white male. He is in his 30s. Medium build, speaking with

a Bristol, south-west accent, and always dress smartly. ?107,000

swindled in this con. Now it is time for a quick appeal.

Today it is one for a person with the -- with an eye on the finer

things in life will stop an art gallery in Newark, Nottinghamshire.

A brick was used to enter Trent Galleries in Chain Lane. Saturday

the 15th of March. He made off with two bronze sculptures. They are by

Jennine Parker. One of them is called Affinity and the other is

called Prosperity. They have identity numbers engraved on the

back together with the signature of the artist. Prosperity was number

16. Affinity number 19. They are quite heavy to carry and Isleworth

together almost ?1800. Maybe somebody has offered them to you. If

you know where they are, please get in touch.

It is called courier fraud, a fast-growing scam that reaches into

your home and tricks you into handing over your bank card and the

vital PIN number. In Manchester, police are warning people about the

con, which affects people across the country. Your account has been

compromised. Your credit card has been stolen. It was an unfortunate

and unpleasant experience. For Ralph, it started with a call out of

the blue. The phone rang. I am calling from the fraud squad. He

said we have apprehended two people in the Westfield retail Park. We

have a man in custody, trying to clone your card. Worried that money

might have been taken from his bank account, Ralph tried to help the

officer by following his instructions. He said to make sure

you know who you are talking to, we will ring. Will you please ring 999

and asked to come through to Limehouse police station. Ralph did

not know it, but he was about to become a victim of courier fraud.

The victims are normally elderly people, vulnerable people, who

believe whether they are telephoned by someone saying they are the

police, that they are the police. He was asked to ring the variety of

phone numbers including the bank, to cancel cards. He said, give me the

details and I will get them cancelled. The key is that when

people think they have hung up, the criminals stay on the line. The

victim picks up their own telephone and ring the number and be connected

automatically to the same person. There are ways of preventing this

happening to you. The line only remains open for a set length of

time so I would leave it ten minutes before you ring back. The final

stage involves getting hold of the victim's card by pretending it is

needed as evidence. We will send someone over to collect your card. A

courier was used to collect the card and deliver it to the criminals.

This is an area police are working on, stopping legitimate taxi firms

from being tricked into acting as careers for the criminals. We stress

to taxi drivers that if they are asked to collect a package from a

vulnerable person, to ask them about it. Make sure it is legitimate. The

message has reached some of Manchester's taxi firms. When

Muhammad received a call, he refused to take the booking and notified the

police. It was a busy day. I picked up the call and it was a gentleman

saying can you pick up a card from my grandfather's place and deliver

it to me, I have left my card there. That is when I thought, no,

something is wrong. The day after handing over his card, Ralph

discovered they had taken ?500. But the car and artists went further.

They asked him to give them his watch, which he had been given for

his 21st birthday, making up elaborate stories about being needed

for a court case. It was a very good watch. I am furious. Furious at

being taken in. I hope the police can get onto it and get this stopped

as soon as possible. A police officer, bank, building society,

will not ring and ask the credit card details over the telephone.

That just will not happen. If you think you have been a victim of

fraud, or you want more information, you can go to the Action Fraud

website. You can telephone them on... It is now time to talk about

cycling on the road with Graham. You put cameras on your helmet and on

the back of your bicycle, was that because you were not happy with what

was happening on the road? I had so many incidents, scary and dangerous,

and I wanted to gather evidence in case something serious happened, but

also to show what it is like the cyclists on the road. What incidents

did you see? We have people passing extremely close. I do 125 miles per

day. Tailgating, cutting you up, those sorts of things. Has there

been an improvement? I was invited to a bus company last year. I had a

chat with the people doing the training. Since then, there has been

a dramatic improvement in behaviour of bus drivers. We can talk to

someone who has done a lot of work on this. PCSO Gareth Walker.

Demonstrate the points you want to get across. We are trying to get

across the message to stay out of cycling lanes. To give cyclists

base. We are saying a metre to let vehicles pass. Do not tailgate, slow

down. Do not put the cyclist under pressure. In a sentence, it is not

just motorists. Cyclists commit offences such as failing to stop at

red lights and cycling on the footpath. We want road users to

respect each other and share the road responsibly. Handy advice.

An update. Today's wanted face number 11. Maxwell Parsons, wanted

for sophisticated fraud costing ?2.5 million. Police are following up

what they call a fantastic lead as a result of a call to the show. Good

information after yesterday's appeal about a scam involving ?120,000 in

Hampshire. And the men wanted after a scam involving money, lots of

leaves on that one. It looks like you have had a good time up there,

Sian. We have enjoyed ourselves. That is

it from the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. Tomorrow we go to

North and we will show you how to make your home burglar proof.

For more details on the show today, go to the website. Finally, we will

leave you with another look at the wanted faces. Somebody knows where

they are. If you do, get in touch. We will see you tomorrow.

What's the hardest thing about being a foster parent?

You're constantly trying to build the elusive trust.

It's like a big old question mark in your heart.

I just try and do the best I can for them while they're with me.

Join Lorraine Pascale as she looks at stories of fostering...