Episode 12 Crimewatch Roadshow

We're live and we need your help to crack down on crime.

The armed gang who went to terrifying lengths

He said if you do not do as you are told, I will shoot you, and I

believed him. And I will take to the sky with the National Police Air

Service. Hello and welcome to

Crimewatch Roadshow, the programme that's on a mission

to solve the crimes It started with stones

being thrown at a window, but ended with a pensioner nearly

losing his hand. and no one will be safe

as long as he is free. And where are the droids

he's looking for? A Star Wars fan's lifetime

collection stolen. If I got the collection back I'd

feel as though I was whole again, because I don't really

want to collect other people's toys. And Michelle is with the National

Police Air Service near Wakefield. Good morning.

Yes, this is one of their 17 bases across the country. The rotors are

starting up on the police helicopter and later I will go on board to see

how they track down crooks from the sky.

First this morning, a nasty armed robbery in Leeds

But it wasn't the limited edition Porsche the thieves were after, just

Fans of Top Gear will know this is a Porsche Carrera GT. 0- 60 in four

seconds, with a top speed over 200 mph. Only 1270 were ever made. Only

ten remain in the UK. But if they need repairing, there are only a

handful of people who can do the job. Ian Mitchell has been in the

motor trade since he was 12. My business is repairing accident

damaged, high end cars, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW. I enjoy my job. A lot

of people get to my age and have had enough but I enjoyed my job.

Recently, Ian had been preparing a badly damaged Porsche Carrera GT

worth hundreds of thousands. Limited edition, top of the range, the car

that all Porsche owners want. While repairs were carried out there were

many Porsche parts in his garage and they have not gone unnoticed. Last

September Ian popped in to work on a Saturday afternoon to finish off

paperwork. Quarter to four, two blokes came in and asked for a price

for a job. Hello, are you all right. After a discussion Ian gave an

estimate and they left. Few minutes they came back. The door went again.

The tall one coming back in. I thought he was coming to book in.

Cave into the office and I was looking down the barrel of a gun.

Just do as we say. It seemed surreal, like it was not

happening. The big one was holding the gun. He turned around and says,

if you want to go home tonight, you do as you are told. Hold out your

hand is! -- hands. I will never forget looking at the knife and

thinking, that is a nasty looking thing. The little one moved out of

the office and I thought, I have had enough. I pulled off the cable ties.

Thinking he was left alone, Ian headed out to lock the front door.

Do you want me to shoot you? I have nothing to defend myself with so I

backed into the office. I grabbed him. There was a tussle. I felt a

blunt Fard in my back. At that point, the gun, a revolver type gun,

some bullets fell onto the floor. I thought I had better start doing as

I am told if I don't, I will get seriously hurt. He said, if you do

not do as you are told, I am going to shoot you. I believed him. To be

honest, I believed him. With Ian no longer resisting, the men taped him

to a chair and blindfolded him. If I looked out like that I could see out

of the bottom of my left eye to see what was happening. Ian could see

the men were selecting and piling up the rare Porsche parts. They knew

exactly what they were looking for and where they work, as if they had

been in before. I had never seen them before. The thieves started to

load a white transit van. In total, they took ?140,000 parts. Clearly a

lot of planning went into this. They brought with them weapons, the gun,

the machete. They are dangerous, they are violent. Ian was

traumatised, terrified on the evening. It was a harrowing

experience. We need to identify these two men. Ian needed stitches

to the laceration on his hip and has struggled to come to terms with the

event. I used to always work late and I have stopped doing that,

stopped working weekends. I work behind locked doors, which is

strange when customers cannot get in, they have to knock on doors,

things like that. I had to put cameras in. It has impacted on

everything. A very scary robbery. Detective Constable

Ailis Coates is with me. What do we know about the men who

did this? As you can see from CCTV, the first is a white male, 35 years

old, tall, over six foot. Athletic build and closely shaved hair. He is

wearing a grey hooded top with an emblem. White tracksuit -- tracksuit

bottoms with white stripes. The second is approximately 25 years,

between five foot four and five tall with dark short hair, dark eyes and

stubble. Both are described as having northern accents. He is

wearing a black hooded top, tracksuit bottoms, and trainers.

They took weapons, one being a silver revolver and another a

machete approximately 14 inches long. Are they local to the area?

No. We know the suspects made phone calls to Porsche dealerships in the

Manchester area and we believe they are from the Manchester area and

urge anyone offer the parts to come forward. What would you say to other

businesses in the area who might be worried? They do not need to be

worried. This was a targeted attack, it was the Porsche Carrera GT parts

they were after. We know the men had weapons. They are described as

dangerous and we urge the public not to approach them but to contact us

instead. Ian has improved security on the premises and no parts are

kept there any more. Thanks. Do take another look at these men.

They need to be caught. They are very dangerous and so do not

approach them but if you recognise them, we need you to get in touch.

Next a round-up of crooks caught on CCTV. This bloke is sitting on the

steps of the London hotel having a cigarette. These two Merrie men ask

for a lighter and after he obliges, the man in a red body warmer offices

hand for a fist bump. He then sweeps into a half-hearted hug, but look

closely, while his friend is distracting the smoker with pats on

the back, he steals his watch. This wasn't just a normal watch. It was

Rolex worth ?10,000. Bring us now and call time on these two.

It is the early hours of the morning and this person with a helmet has

found their way into a bakery, not for a midnight snack. The mystery

person starts pouring a liquid from a petrol can all over the shop. He

then head back towards the door and leaves. A few minutes later, the

intruder is back and lights up the liquid trail. Flames spread

throughout the shop, causing ?50,000 of damage to equipment and stock.

This bakery had been undergoing refurbishment and was due to open

that morning. Luckily, no bomb was hurt. But this firestarter in the

distinct helmet needs to be stopped. Call us now.

A lady is at a cash machine and has entered her PIN number. This man

strikes up a conversation. Police say he is using a newspaper to hide

some button pressing. He carries on talking to her and uses the

newspaper to cover part of the cash machine. This is it again.

Detectives say he managed to request ?300 in cash and think he has done

the same crime since. Who is he? We need to catch him now.

If you spotted anyone you knew, call us now.

Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.

Text CW, space and then your message.

Texts will be charged at your standard message rate.

I'm inside the National Police Air Service helicopter.

With me is Tactical Flight Officer Neil Martin.

It seems a pretty complex job. They can zoom down on the ground.

The National Police Air Service covers the whole of England and

Wales. With 17 bases, crews can respond to emergency calls within

minutes. Mansfield railway station. Their job as the eye in the sky is

to support police on the ground. The heart of the National Police Air

Service is here, at the operational control room in Wakefield. The crew

are making their way to the aircraft. Have you got an incident?

Where they respond to over 200 calls per day.

West Yorkshire Police are aware. The National Police Air Service

operations centre is unique. It is the first and only in the country.

The type of incident we attend can vary from a suspect search to a

firearms incident, a reported stolen vehicle, a vehicle pursued. The

helicopter bases range from Exeter to Newcastle and support 43 police

forces. Today, call operators Alison and Lawrence are looking after the

North East and the west of England. We try to get to 98% of the

population within 20 minutes. The aircraft can fly 120 mph and if they

are 20 miles away they will get there in ten minutes. The

helicopters provide a live feed of action to the control room and

Lawrence must monitor the screens. We are a vital link between policing

on the ground and air support. A call has come in from the police

on the ground in Bradford who need help pursuing a stolen car. At the

base near Leeds, the crew jumped into action.

There are a lot of systems to employ and a lot of things to do at the

same time. We get the minimum details and get to task.

We can do that in a hurry, less than three minutes.

Whilst Neil Pratt the helicopter camera, Lee Beevers is in charge of

all the operations and communications back to base.

It is only once airborne that he finds out where they are going.

Centre of Bradford. OK. Travelling at 125 mph, it will take

them just nine minutes to catch up with the stolen car.

If there is a pursuit, we can follow the car while the pursuing cars can

drop off. That can enhance the safety.

Two and a half minutes away. Before they can get near, the job is called

off. Thank you, we have been cancelled

from the job. The car has been stopped and two men

arrested. So, it is back to base. The job can

be used stressful on occasions. There is no time to rest as another

call immediately comes in. Very few details. They will be

starting up now and shouting they are listing.

We are ready to lift. This time, a missing person.

It is confirmed we are airborne. With you in about nine minutes. We

are looking for a 14-year-old girl. Walking in the woods, she has got

lost. With a missing child, we would want

to be helping the search as quickly as possible.

The 14-year-old girl has learning difficulties and is thought to be

lost in some woods near Doncaster. The location is remote and fast.

A group of three on the path, three o'clock.

Do we know what coloured top? Blue jogging bottoms, Brown top,

black coat. On a warm day, a thermal camera is

not so good. But she could be wearing distinctive

clothing so we can use the day camera.

While I am concentrating, the picture from the camera paints 1000

words, people can see what is happening, see the officers on the

ground. The target position is where the

bodies are. How long ago was the sighting?

45 minutes ago. We have five minutes left on scene, it is negative at

this time. Having a good look around the water.

Because of the strict aviation rules, they only have minutes left

in the air. They desperately try to find the girl.

Blue joggers, brown top, black coat. I think that is us. With their time

up, they must hand the search over to the night crew.

If you are involved in a pursuit or serious incident and contributing to

the capture of a criminal, or finding a missing person, it isn't

much more rewarding than that in the police force.

Thankfully, the girl was found safe and well.

Let's see if we can speak now to the pilot, James.

Talk me through the situations you face in the air?

We do a wide range of tasks, looking for missing people, vehicle

pursuits, following suspects. It is intense, you are multitasking

and the technology looks pretty complicated to me, this is part of

your daily job. It gets busy, six radios to listen

to, seeing what is on the camera at the front, looking out the window

for an idea on the ground. Other particular problems you face?

The weather presents challenges. Now we are a national service travelling

further afield, geography as well. There has been an issue with these

laser pointers, what has been the problem?

People at night target us with laser devices, attacking aircraft flying

near their house. It can be incredibly distracting. It can have

serious consequences. We are flying single pilot. These can cause/

Lyness. This is why you have special

glasses, how do they work? These particular glasses have a die

in them to absorb the laser. Let us do a demo, if I shine a

light, this is blocking it from reaching the helicopter. If we take

those away, you can see it comes straight through. These are really

useful for you. Very useful. Thank you.

Great that we can hear you again, apologies for the break up in sound.

An unprovoked attack with a meat cleaver that nearly cost

The only thing that came to mind was survival.

Two months on, has the law on micro-chipping dogs

Now, in London last year, almost 43,000 people

were reported missing to the Metropolitan Police.

Thankfully, most were found safe and well.

But that still leaves thousands of families looking for answers.

He went missing more than six months ago.

In a moment, we will hear from his son and grandson.

But first, I'm joined by Detective Chief Inspector Mike

Welcome to the programme, what can you tell us about his disappearance?

Brian lives alone in Abbey Wood, south-east London.

Brian is 86, he was 85 at the time he went missing.

He is five feet and seven inches, medium build, a white man as you can

see. He was last seen in his front garden

at ten o'clock on the 23rd of September, in the morning, going

back into his house. As you would expect, his family are

very concerned about what they have happened to him, as we can see now.

He is nice, a generous person, he would talk and help anyone. Anyone

from the street, everyone knew him because he was so nice.

It is very heartbreaking to find him not here, wondering where he is. You

keep thinking about him all the time.

It is hard. Anyone, anything, please come

forward, give us that little bit of information. If it is tiny and you

don't think it will help, anything will do to give us hope.

If you have seen him or heard anything, please let us know, it

would be brilliant to have him back. What do we know about what he may be

wearing? You will see some CCTV. Brian wears

a Beijing jacket. We have a picture of the jacket he

may have been wearing at the time he was last seen.

Some other items he was believed to have on him. A distinctive mobile

phone he was known to carry. And a watch like this he would have been

wearing at the time. You mentioned CCTV. He is a man of

routine, the same routine every day. What did he do? On weekends, he

would spend his time with his family.

Mondays, see his sister-in-law. Tuesdays, as you can see, the last

CCTV of him at Bluewater, he would spend the morning at the shopping

centre. Wednesdays, Bexley town centre.

He is wearing his beige coloured jacket, the one believed to be

wearing. His last known sighting, and that

was the day before. That was on the 22nd of September at

Bluewater. He was seen by a neighbour on the morning of the

23rd, going back into his house, he hasn't been seen since.

This is being taken seriously, there is a reward.

?10,000 for significant information leading to us finding Brian.

It is worth saying this is totally out of character for Brian, he has

never been missing before. He is fit and healthy, he walks with

a stick. Very out of character, we need

answers for the family. As you've seen Brian's family

are desperate for information. If you have seen Brian or come

across any of his personal items, the watch, mobile phone

or his jacket, then please I'm sure we all had our favourite

toys when we were kids. For Chris Lupton, his obsession was,

and still is, Star Wars memorabilia. He spent his whole life building

up a huge collection. Christopher Lupton has always loved

Star Wars. I loved it when Star Wars came out.

My dad took me to see all the Star Wars films.

He loves the films, Andy Love the toys.

When he bought me the big robot, even though I was only ten, I played

with it, then put it back in its box. That was probably an indication

I would start collecting things. Chris has been collecting ever

since. I really enjoyed collecting. Because

I could immerse myself in that world. I was there. I was a storm

trooper. In fact, I actually became a storm trooper later in life.

After 40 years, he built up quite a connection worth over ?30,000.

But someone else had found out about his hobby.

In April this year, Chris went away for a few days.

While he was gone, his home was broken into and he returned to find

much of his house had been turned upside down.

It was quite devastating. Boxes everywhere. It was just

trashed everywhere. One thing was obvious, they knew

exactly what they were looking for, and they knew where to look.

What the thieves had been looking for was his beloved Star Wars

collection which had been hidden in a secret cupboard behind a curtain.

It made me feel very emotional. It was a conversation of being shocked

and angry. No one burbles a house and find

these on spec. The value of the collection was

worth in excess of 35,000 two ?50,000, maybe even more.

Ed took a long time collecting these.

If I got the collection back, I'd feel as if I was holding.

Grzegorz Krychowiak I took. I do want to collect other people's toys,

these were my toys. -- I don't want to.

This collection clearly meant an awful lot to Chris.

These items were very distinctive, and were stored in a secret place.

These items were stored in a hidden cupboard someone would have known

about to gain access. We believe Mr Lupton was targeted.

What do we know about the people responsible?

Basically, we believe more than one person was involved due to the

amount of items taken. Possibly a vehicle used to take them away.

Although these are toys, this is a serious offence, these were worth a

lot of money. Mr Lupton has been collecting for a

number of years, since he was a child.

They are sentimental value to him. We want to find out about anyone

acting suspiciously in the area, suspicious vehicles, between Sunday

the 10th, and Tuesday the 19th of April. Any items that may have been

sold in person or online, anyone from the Star Wars committee who may

have heard of these items being sold all rested greens. We want to catch

the people responsible. These items mean a lot to Chris.

So, if you can help reunite Chris with his Star Wars

Back in April, it became compulsory for dog owners

Two months on, has the new law really made a difference?

I'm joined by dog wardens Kathryn Hubery and Steve Green,

who are based in Cardiff, and dogs Nilar and Jessie.

Welcome. Explain about why the law was brought into place and what

happens if the dog is not chipped? The main reason for the law is to

help reunite dogs faster with odours if they are lost, stolen, become

strays. That is the main reason, otherwise, if a dog is not

micro-chipped, the owner has 21 days notice to get the dogs chipped. It

is something they have to do now? It is the law. Steve, you will show how

the chip works. You have a dog with a chip. What happens? The microchip

is planted under spare skin around the shoulder blade. I have a pocket

scanner. Scanning that area and when it finds the chip... Hold it up to

the camera and we will try to zoom in. Tilting it slightly forward.

There are some numbers, which do not seem to make sense, but they are

numbers you need. A 15 digit number kept on a database and I will phone

to the database and give them the number and as long as the

information is up-to-date I should be able to repatriate the dog to its

owner. It is a simple thing. There is a needle, this puts the chip in,

between the shoulder blades. You click it and it is a tiny chip that

holds all the information. It is about the size of a grain of rice.

Even if they have a chip, it does not necessarily mean all is well

because information might be out of date. The chip is only as good as

the information on the database and so if you move home, get a new

mobile number, it you need to update it with the chip company which is as

simple as phoning up or going on the internet. You have an appeal for us

in a moment, but there is a rise in social media used to talk about

missing dogs, found pets. It is good but you want to be mindful about

that. Anything that gets the dog back with the owner faster is

positive but people need to bear in mind they have to legally informed

the dog warden service if they find a dog otherwise they could be in

trouble with theft by finding. These two dogs have been rescued and given

new homes, but you have some more which we have seen that have no

home. We have just over 30 at Cardiff dogs' home and we are either

looking for owners or they are looking for new homes to go to.

There is a lovely story with this dog, she looks gorgeous now but she

was in a totally different state when you got her. Yes, a mess,

matted, had probably been left outside. As you can see now... And

she has a new home to go to. Thanks. Around 30 dogs at the centre in

Cardiff that need a new home so if you think you can give them one the

details will be on the screen now. Michelle.

What would you do if someone was throwing stones at your window?

For one pensioner making the decision to confront the thug

outside his home is something he'll regret for the rest of his life.

Retirement has been the best time of my life. Just a quiet, leisurely

life. I get up when I want and go to sleep when I want and go where I

want. Where I live it has countryside within 100 yards in each

direction and it is quiet. Never had any problems. I was watching TV.

I heard stones hitting the window and went to the window, opened it a

little bit, and there was a bloke with a bicycle. I asked him what he

wanted. It was you. What are you talking about? He was ranting on I

had been grassing everybody up. I know it was you! It was ridiculous.

I told him to clear off. Brian decided to go downstairs and

confront the man. Who by now had crossed over the road.

He backed off and was motioning me to go across. Once Brian got close

to the man, he struck out. I went towards him. Then he pulled out an

iron bar and hit me over the head with it. He jumped back and pulled a

meat cleaver out and came at me. He went for me. I put my hand up to

stop him attacking my head and hitting with a torch. But it was not

enough. The meat cleaver sliced through

Brian's hand. I did not feel anything hardly, it was so sharp, it

was as sharp as a razor blade, it cut through everything. Leaving

Brian severely injured, the attacker fled on his mountain bike. The only

thing that went through my mind was survival. Holding pressure on it to

stop the bleeding. RADIO: Go ahead. I have been

attacked by a lunatic, he attacked me with a meat cleaver.

In surgery it took them 12 hours to fix everything up. It has been two

months since the operation and I only have very small movement in a

couple of fingers and the thumb, a little bit more movement but still

not enough to do anything with. Brian sustained a serious injury to

his left hand which was almost completely severed. This is a

dangerous person, who is prepared to use a dangerous weapon against an

old man in public, and it is vital we catch this person.

What he did has greatly impacted on my life. Dependent on others to do

anything. He definitely intended to kill me, there is no question about

it. He is a very nasty, evil person. This must have been a harrowing

ordeal for Brian. And he clearly still has a long and

hard recovery ahead. I'm joined by Detective

Inspector Stuart Hall. We have CCTV of the attacker. The

mail was riding a white mountain bike, which might of been a ladies'

style. He is described as white, stocky, bald, five foot ten, mid to

late 30s, and he may have had a moustache at the time. You have

recovered the meat cleaver? We believe so. Following the attack he

rode in the direction of Thorne and then to West Road and the meat

cleaver was found in a garden on the route taken by the mail and matches

a description given by Brian. You think the incident might have been

linked to previous incidents on the same street. Two months earlier

there was an incident with a stocky, bald-headed mail was captured on

CCTV will stop he was reportedly making threats to one of Brian's

neighbours. It may or may not be the same person, but I urge, if people

look at the images, and see if they can recognise anyone and if they do,

call. Ryan suffered extensive injuries. How is he doing? Brian

needed a lot of surgery. Luckily we saved his hand. He needs video

therapy, which is ongoing. It is a long road ahead for Brian. Thanks.

If you can name the man please get in touch on the usual numbers.

Or if you prefer you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Today's collection of Wanted Faces from around the country.

We start with Przemyslaw Piotr Milewski.

He was jailed for three-and-a-half years for robbery, threats to kill,

kidnap and fraud in Poland, and released early on licence.

But officials there now what him to return to serve

He's 30 years old, and has a number of scars including

He has several tattoos, including these two,

If you know where he is, don't approach him, just dial 999.

He was arrested in connection with the supply of class A drugs,

But he failed to return to officers, and is now on the run.

Osman is 26, and has links to Cardiff, the Netherlands, and to

This is James Boffey, although he also goes

He was jailed for five years and nine months in 2011 for his part

in a series of burglaries where families were confronted

He was released early from prison, but has failed to stick

to the conditions of his release, and is now wanted back in jail.

Boffey has a Liverpudlian accent, and a tribal tattoo

He also has links to Essex and Spain.

Finally, we have 35-year-old Matthew John Porter,

He was arrested by detectives in Nottinghamshire investigating

a robbery at a jewellers, where ?250,000 worth of jewellery

He was released on police bail, but has failed to return

Porter has numerous tattoos, including female figures,

He has friends and family in Lincolnshire and the West

Midlands, and speaks with a Midlands accent.

If you know where any of them are, you know what to do.

We have taken a look at a police helicopter, but we will now see

another airborne piece of kit that has been helpful to officers on the

ground. It is the West Yorkshire Police drone. For safety reasons it

cannot be used close to helicopters. How do pilots trained to use these?

It is an intensive course. They must pass assessments during the process

and subject that they go on a four-day course which culminates in

a written exam, which you can understand they love! Followed by a

practical flying assessment and every aspect of the course is pass

or fail and it is only when they have passed every component they are

qualified by the Civil Aviation Authority. It is thorough. What are

they useful? The main function is saving life. When we have people who

have gone missing, are vulnerable, in large open areas, we will use the

device to eliminate parts of the search area, so we can focus on

undergrowth, woodlands, ditches, watercourses, where we feel the

person might be. It speeds up the search process and gives us a better

opportunity of finding people alive. They have been used with recent

flooding and investigating road accidents. Around Christmas time,

Boxing Day we had terrible floods in West Yorkshire and we used the drone

to assess the extent of flooding, but also where people were to be

rescued, what infrastructure was at risk, so we could prioritise rescues

and deployments. The drone unit is expanding? It is, because of the

creativity of officers. You mentioned road collisions. Not

anything of my doing, but the officers investigating a serious

road accident used it to recreate a driver's route, to recreate the

driver's eye view of the route prior to and during the condition, so we

could see what the driver would have seen, could have seen. These will be

rolled out soon. A lot of you are still calling in about the shocking

murder of pensioner Tommy Ward in his home in Rotherham and police are

chasing the Leeds as a result of your information. Many of you

calling in with offers of help for victims of the arson of pigeon

lofts, but police need more information on who started the

blaze. Please get in touch, it really makes a difference. Michelle,

where will you be tomorrow? Well, we've seen today how

useful drones can be This drone footage shows

the impact of fly-tipping and the effect it has

on our environment. And, tomorrow, we're going to be

looking at how authorities are going after the fly-tippers,

tracking down those who dump For more details about the crimes

on today's programme, Before we go, here's another look

at this morning's Wanted Faces. If any of them look familiar,

pick up the phone and tell MUSIC: Send My Love

(To Your New Lover) by Adele