Episode 3 Dom on the Spot

Never before have so many on-the-spot fines been issued in Britain.

-OK.

-You're about to fine me. I don't have any money for that.

-Come here.

-We're going to be following the men and women who hand out

over £30 million worth of tickets every month...

Hello?

-That gets my goat!

-My jaw is dropping.

..for behaviour that's downright dangerous...

..simply selfish...

-It's been defrosted a while, that, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

..or just, well, plain silly.

Get off your phone! Doughnut.

'We'll be revealing the cost of their bad behaviour...'

-How much is the fine on this one?

-£100 for no seat belt.

-It's expensive.

-I know, yeah.

-..and how this could affect you.

I'm in the middle of a job. I'm working. I'm a builder.

The police are on it...

Out of your mouth, now!

'The parking wardens are on it...'

So once it's printed, that's it.

There's no point arguing the point.

'And I'm on it.' Put your seat belt on!

Cheeky monkeys.

I'm Dom Littlewood, and I'm On The Spot.

'This time...' That was naughty, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-'..has this litter lout got something else to hide?'

Drop! Spit them out, now!

Spit them out!

I go undercover in the hunt for blue badge abusers.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Oh, that's better.

And, in Pendle, it's a stakeout in pursuit of Public Enemy Number One.

Or should that be Public Enemy Number Two?

There's two piles of dog mess here. This is where the dog goes.

This is its spot.

Today, I'm in Manchester,

where I'm joining PC Matt Picton of the Greater Manchester Police.

I'm going to be spending a bit of time with him in his office,

but his office just happens to be an unmarked Beemer.

Mate, you don't mind me eating in the car, do you?

-No, absolutely not. You carry on.

-I bet it's something you do all the time, isn't it?

-Yes.

Like I say, it's like a mobile police station.

We're obviously out in them for seven, eight hours a day,

and you do everything in here.

'Yeah, you can even have your lunch, Matt. Don't mind me.

'But be careful of indigestion, because Matt is a busy traffic cop,

'and you never know when you might chance upon a dodgy driver.'

-That was naughty, wasn't it?

-Yeah, right in front of us.

-I'm not quite convinced it wasn't a spliff, to be honest, either.

-Yeah.

Just to explain what was going on there, a car went past us

and the driver threw what looked like a cigarette

out of the passenger window,

which is a bit of an odd thing to do, and Matt here suspects

that it might have been a spliff.

'A spliff, or a cannabis rolled cigarette,

'could mean he'll face much bigger charges than just littering.'

It certainly wasn't a cigarette that he threw out the window,

so that would give me suspicion.

-Yeah.

-And the fact is, he's got a brake light out,

he's committed a moving traffic offence,

and he's now not paying attention, means that we can

drug-test them anyway, because they've committed an offence.

Right in front of you.

He couldn't have done it in a worse place, could he? HORN HONKS

Well, whether it was a spliff or not, it looks like

the problems are starting to mount up for this driver.

-Hello, buddy. You all right?

-Yeah.

Just come and join on the pavement. I don't want to get run over.

Right, OK. One of you flicked something out of the window.

-Was it you?

-What?

-Threw your cig out the window?

-Possibly, yeah.

-"Possibly, yeah?" Well, you either did or you didn't.

-Right. It's littering.

-LAUGHTER

You can't do that. You jump out and have a chat with me.

So, you're telling me you don't smoke cannabis.

There's no cannabis in this car.

Is it registered and insured to you?

Right, OK. Just you stand over there a second.

So when was the last time you cleaned your car out?

I see what he's saying about cleaning your car out.

-Good Lord!

-Come on, you come and join me.

So, with the litterbug finally coming clean about his offence,

it's time for him to face the music.

Right, you have a seat in there for me.

Right. OK.

It might seem petty,

however, throwing rubbish out of the window of a car...

No, you don't pay me.

Or flicking cigarettes out of a window causes

massive issues for the council, basically.

They've got to then pay someone to come and clean up after you,

and it's not fair on them, is it, to have to pay to pick up your litter?

Now, the eagle eyes of Matt there spotted a cigarette

being thrown out the window. I saw it as well. It was pretty blatant.

In fact, it was almost aimed at the car.

The nub of it is,

he's getting a ticket for littering on the highway.

I have to say, he doesn't seem too bothered about his impending fine.

In fact, he seems more interested in playing on his phone.

He's actually making a mockery of the whole system, because he's filming the officer.

He's actually filming us now, if you look at this. He really just doesn't seem to care less.

Now, for someone like Matt,

he's got to really sort of bite his tongue there and not speak his mind,

because that's got to be pretty aggravating.

I find it aggravating enough, when a camera's filming me,

let alone when you're trying to do your job like that!

RADIO CHATTER

Could you do us a body check, please, on Trafford Road?

-RADIO:

-Stand by.

Matt's called in his details to HQ,

and it turns out there's two outstanding warrants for his arrest.

Handcuffs have just been slapped on this guy.

He's still laughing and taking photographs,

but obviously things have taken a serious turn now.

Seems like he's a person of interest in another case,

so he's going down the station.

I think, in relation to the fine for littering,

that's the least of your worries.

Sit tight, pal, just waiting for a van. All right.

I think in this instance,

giving up smoking would have been a really good idea.

And he might need that phone now,

to let his friends knows his plans are about to change.

OK, my friend, he's coming with us.

He's got an outstanding warrant.

Right, in relation to you,

you need to get your brake light fixed.

But just as Matt's breaking the news to them that they're going to be

a person light on their journey home,

inside the car, the litterbug

looks like he's swallowing something in a hurry.

Out your mouth! Out your mouth, now!

Out your mouth! Drop!

Spit them out, now! Spit them out!

Get on the floor.

Stay there, all right?

Matt's had to move fast.

We've just seen this lad take a whole load of pills,

and we've no idea what they are.

What have you gone and done that for?

Eh? What happens if you've overdosed? Eh?

You won't? How do you know? What have you taken?

There's a whole load of drugs now on the back seat.

I saw the guy trying to swallow as many as he could.

I mean, it was a big packet.

And how many have you taken?

Five?

2892, I'm going to need an ambulance as well.

-RADIO:

-Roger.

You know, obviously, we're a bit concerned now for what's going on.

An ambulance has been called.

It's gone from a simple offence of throwing a cigarette

out of the back of a car, littering, to something now which is...

which is quite shocking, really. SIREN

Matt's priority now is to make sure this young lad is safe.

So, we'll sit you up. You need to be sick, for your own benefit.

RADIO CHATTER

OK? Any movement, to try and run off or make off or fight,

and I'll Taser you.

Understand?

Stay there with your legs crossed.

You make any movement to go anywhere...

No, you can't have a cigarette.

It's crazy how these things escalate. He was pulled over

because he threw a cigarette butt out of the car, for littering.

It's just gone from a littering charge to chaos.

After they finally get him in the back of the van,

Matt has time to catch his breath.

We would never have been aware of him had we not decided to

-stop that car for something that people think is petty.

-Yeah.

But small offences do lead to big offences,

especially when you're on traffic.

You just stop cars for no seat belt, a light out,

and next thing you know, you're finding all kind of things.

He's now in the back of an ambulance now, semi-unconscious,

and he's going to end up in hospital for a day, two days, and then,

when he gets released from there, he'll be dealt with by us,

-and then placed before a court.

-Possible prison?

-Possible prison, yeah.

What a crazy afternoon!

It just goes to show that what we're doing is invaluable, sometimes.

I mean, yeah, we're giving tickets out to people for road safety,

but ultimately we're cops, aren't we,

and if we end up with something like this, we deal with it.

-Definitely not his lucky day.

-No.

Right, good to go.

Dog poo. No-one likes it.

It's dirty, it's smelly,

and in some cases it can make you seriously ill.

And if you don't pick your dog poo up,

you're going to get yourself a fine.

But catching the culprit is easier said than done.

DOG BARKS

It's estimated that there are over 8.5 million dogs in the UK,

and while most people look after their pets responsibly,

dog-fouling is a huge problem for councils.

You can be fined £100 if you don't carry a bag to clean up

after your dog, but that threat doesn't seem to bother some people.

Look! Hello.

We hate dog mess because we have three spaniels of our own,

and we always clean up our own dog mess and also we'll actually pick up

other people's as well, to make sure the place is kept clean.

One guy on my road, all he does,

he drops dog litter, so he drops the poo and he doesn't pick it up,

so, definitely, I think they should be fined, 100%.

And just, pppphh! On the floor, and

"Come on, darling," to the dogs!

In Pendle, Jon Yurek, Environmental Crime Officer,

is on a mission.

We're going to go to Ravenscroft Road,

and there is a report of dog fouling.

This is a tip-off from the general public.

The tip-off Jon's received has brought him to a garage on an industrial estate.

A member of the public claims to have witnessed a man allowing

his dog to do its business on a footpath every single morning.

The only other clue Jon has to go on

is that the suspect's vehicle is blue and white.

I've been told between half past seven and eight o'clock is

when he turns up.

You can see the garage is closed,

the gate's locked, so no-one's turned up yet.

All Jon can do now is play the waiting game.

This dog won't turn up, I know this dog won't turn up.

If there was a dog here every day,

you would find copious amounts of dog mess.

It'd be everywhere, wouldn't it?

But just as he's about to give up...

Ah, there's the man. This is the guy turning up.

..a van arrives, and it matches the description.

If the intelligence I've been given is correct,

I would expect that the dog is released pretty much as soon as

the van goes inside. So let's see what happens.

But after patiently waiting, there's still no sign of a dog.

There's no dog here, is there?

I can't see him going inside, making himself a pot of coffee,

having his breakfast, checking his e-mails,

coming out and then releasing the dog.

That wouldn't be normal behaviour. There's no dog here.

Has Jon been sent on a wild goose chase?

It's certainly beginning to look that way.

But what's this?

Another blue and white vehicle.

Ah, dog!

It's the prime suspect!

But has he been a naughty boy?

There's the guy.

Is Jon onto something?

Or is he barking up the wrong tree?

Time for a sniff around.

It's not yet certain this dog has been doing its business on public land.

-Hello.

-DOG BARKS

Jon needs solid evidence,

and by solid, yes, I really do mean solid.

This is where the dog fouled, here.

But you can see, there's one, two...

there's two piles of dog mess here. This is where the dog goes.

This is its spot.

We're going to blur these little blighters so you're not put off.

Yep, that's better.

But with several deposits at the scene,

how will Jon identify the right one?

He can't exactly dust it for prints.

OK, so, the report I got from the general public was correct.

I've taken a photograph of the dog.

CAMERA CLICKS

-And I've taken a photograph of the fresh faeces.

-CAMERA CLICKS

Let's see what the guy's got to say.

But whilst Jon's been taking photos,

could the guy have been back to the scene

and tampered with the evidence?

A quick word with you, please, sir?

-I'm from Pendle Borough Council.

-Yeah?

-Environmental Crime Officer.

All right? I notice you've just gone and picked up a defecation now.

-Yeah.

-But when your dog was here, it went straight over there,

fouled the ground, and you walked into the building there.

-Yeah.

-OK? What I believe is that you've committed the offence of

dog fouling, which is failing to pick up forthwith.

Oh, dear. This could throw a spanner in the works.

If it is private land, he might not be able to issue a fine.

Was all that waiting around for nothing?

Jon will need to do some checks at the office.

But he still takes the bloke's details,

because if this is public land,

he could be in line for a £75 on-the-spot fine.

But he'll have to wait to find out.

It's the offence of failing to pick up forthwith, OK?

-Is it? Right.

-That's the offence, sir. All right?

-Right.

I was unaware that, on private land, it was still an offence.

Well, that's what I'm saying to you. If it's private,

then that can be disputed with, obviously, your boss and stuff,

with regards to the fouling on private land.

Even though it is private land, you know,

I thought it didn't make any difference.

Away from where everybody's walking,

I think it's a bit, probably a bit harsh, really.

I'm not happy about it.

Jon doesn't look happy either.

But if it is private land, there might be nothing he can do.

But that won't stop him from trying.

Once he's on the scent, he's like a dog with a bone.

I've done a land registry check on the area, and it does appear

that the dog fouling took place

just within the boundaries of the private land.

So, in relation to prosecuting the individual for dog fouling,

there's not a lot we can do.

For now, this gentleman won't be getting any further action

against him, because the dog has defecated in private land

and not on public land.

I am gutted, because I can't pursue this.

-The battle goes on.

-HE CHUCKLES

So close, yet so far.

But it looks as if Jon will have to put away the fine book for now.

But litterers of Pendle, beware.

This dirt detective could be watching you.

Blue Badges - they're a crucial lifeline for disabled drivers.

But misusing your badge is a criminal offence,

and nationwide, prosecutions have risen by a whopping 67% since 2013.

-They're lousy. Lousy.

-SHE LAUGHS

Sorry about that, but they shouldn't!

If you're... I mean, the poor people who need to drive,

they need their space,

as far as I'm concerned. And if I was still driving,

I certainly wouldn't park in their spaces.

People might think it's just being a little bit cheeky,

it's not hurting anyone, but, yeah, it is, you know, there's...

I've seen people trying to get into disabled bays when there aren't spaces available.

You know, is it because someone who is registered disabled is in there,

or is it someone who's being a little bit louche with the...

and a bit lax with the rules?

-Well, that's a bit naughty.

-Yeah.

-Don't like that at all.

-Yeah, that's right.

-Have a guess what the penalty could be.

-No.

-£1,000?

Yep, up to £1,000 and you get a criminal record.

Oh, I see. We'd better be a bit careful then.

You'd better be a bit careful indeed.

And Blue Badge abusers of Enfield especially beware.

The enforcers are out and about,

and you might not spot them coming,

because today they're undercover.

There are 2.5 million Blue Badges in the UK being used,

but not all of them are being used correctly.

And these ladies are out to catch the bad guys.

Isn't that right, ladies?

You're going to get the bad guys today, yeah?

Vicky Woodgate and her colleague Elaine Barnes

are the borough's finest.

But don't let their casual clothes fool you.

They mean business.

So, on average, how many people a day, a week, a month, or whatever,

are you actually catching misusing badges?

One in four people that we speak to are misusing. Yeah.

Oh, you surprise me. I thought it was going to be, you know,

every now and again you'll catch one, but if it's 25% of people,

that's pretty bad. Right, so, tell me what you're looking for.

We are looking for vehicles displaying Blue Badges...

-OK.

-..as this one is. It's parked on a single yellow line.

So you're allowed to park on a single yellow line...

-Yeah.

-..if you display a Blue Badge.

-OK.

I'm going to write the details down on my inspection sheet,

-and Vicky's going to...

-I'm going to take the photograph of the vehicle.

-But hang on, has it actually committed an offence yet?

-We don't know yet.

-We don't know.

-We won't know until the person comes back to the vehicle.

-Right. So why are you trying to photo it?

-If it turns out to be a misuse...

-Then you need that evidence?

-..then our photographs will be evidence.

-Gotcha.

I love this cloak and dagger stuff!

And given the weather, I think I might need to go undercover as well.

While you're doing that, I'm just going to nip in there and get a hat,

-cos my head is absolutely frozen.

-OK. Not a problem.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Oh, that's better.

No-one will recognise me now.

Right, on with catching the baddies.

What's the longest you've ever had to wait for someone to come back?

We have waited an hour, an hour and a half for a person to come back.

-I've waited a couple of hours.

-Have you?

Two hours?! I'm glad I bought that hat.

-Scary.

-Sometimes we'll get to a point and think,

"Well, they're not going to come back,"

and then we'll just rely on the CCTV, and then watch it to see

who comes back and who goes.

-There's no escaping Enfield Blue Badge enforcement officers, is there?

-No, there isn't.

Tell me about the fines and penalties which can be imposed

if people are misusing these badges.

Right, OK. So it'll go to a Magistrates' Court,

and the maximum fine is up to £1,000.

That's an expensive parking ticket, isn't it?

Very. And a criminal record.

-Gordon Bennett! It's quite tough.

-Yeah.

You'd think that would be enough to put people off,

but these ladies are here if it doesn't,

and they've found another badge to scrutinise.

How do you know that it is the right female?

Because she might have just lent it to a mate or a sister

-who's a very similar age.

-Yeah, I mean, obviously when someone

-comes back to the vehicle, we ask to look at the badge...

-Yeah.

..and on the back of the badge is a photograph of the badge holder.

Is there any other way of checking?

Yes, we've actually got a database, the Blue Badge Database,

where we can put in the badge details and that brings up

all the badge details, including the photograph of the badge holder.

Do you know what? Half the problem is here.

You've got 14-inch nails on there, haven't you?

-I know.

-Honestly, you could dig a garden with those things! LAUGHTER

HORN HONKS All right, fella?

Get off your phone! Doughnut.

So, that's two vehicles down and still no luck.

But this duo are determined to wheedle out people abusing the system.

Now, she's spotted this lady returning to the vehicle.

In theory, she should be about mid-60s and female.

Obviously, the gender's correct.

She's just having a quick look now to make sure she's the right person.

I tell you what, it's like following a pair of bloodhounds.

INDISTINCT

And then, it's on to the next one.

Can I just check that the Blue Badge is yours? I'm from Enfield Council.

We're just doing Blue Badge patrols.

-Can I come under here with you?

-Yeah, course you can.

-We'll let him stand in the rain, shall we?

-Yeah, it's all right.

-Are you using this Blue Badge legally?

-Yes.

-Good for you.

What do you think of people who abuse Blue Badges and park in

these spaces, which obviously disabled people can use,

-and they shouldn't be?

-I'll tell you a little story.

-A guy pulled up behind me...

-Yeah.

-"You can't park there."

I said, "Why? I'm disabled."

He says, "You ain't got a Blue Badge."

I said, "Have a look round the front."

He said to you, "You're not disabled."

-Yeah, I'm not disabled.

-Yeah.

How many people say that to you? Do you get that quite a lot?

Yeah, I do, because I've got two new knees and I've got a new hip.

-Yeah.

-And the next one will be bionic, so that's it.

-Good Lord, he's like Steve Austin, isn't he?

-Yeah.

-LAUGHTER

But you are disabled, you're entitled to the badge.

-Yeah.

-And obviously some people will have a go at you cos they say

-you look fit and healthy.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

So, that's four legitimate Blue Badge users.

With the ladies' one-in-four hit rate,

either the people of Enfield are behaving themselves today,

or the owner of the next vehicle is in trouble.

What's in your radar now?

My radar is there's a disabled parking bay just here.

-Yes.

-So the vehicle should be displaying a Blue Badge...

-Yes.

-..as it's a disabled parking bay.

So what do we know about this one, then?

We know that it's...

A child's badge.

-Who is about nine years old.

-About nine years old.

OK. Obviously the parent would have that badge on behalf of their disabled child.

-Yeah.

-Does that mean they can use it without the child being in the car?

-No.

-No. So the child has to be present for them to be able to use that?

-Yeah.

There's nothing for it but to wait for the owner to return.

Someone's coming.

This is not looking good for the lady,

because she doesn't have a child with her.

Hello. I'm from Enfield Council.

-Yes?

-I'm just checking on the Blue Badges,

just to make sure that the right people are using them.

Can I just have a quick look at the Blue Badge there, please?

This lady's going to be in a bit of trouble here.

She has returned to the car on her own.

She's looking a little bit shell-shocked and very surprised.

I'm hoping for her sake she has just dropped her child off somewhere,

because then she's going to be in the clear.

After claiming she'd just popped to the shops for five minutes,

this lady fesses up that she's actually been to the dentist.

But there's no sign of her child.

It does seem like it is a real black-and-white case of,

she's using her child's disabled badge to park

for her own convenience.

I suppose, when I say it like that,

you all of a sudden think, you know, "Bang out of order."

So, will Elaine let this lady off with a warning?

Or is she heading for prosecution?

We know that you've got a disabled daughter, OK?

We won't be seizing the badge, yeah? But unfortunately,

we will have to report you to Enfield Council.

Expect to receive a letter within the next month or two.

Ouch! That's going to hurt more than a root canal.

If prosecuted, she faces a potential £1,000 fine

and, on top of that, a criminal record.

The ladies have just gone back to the office now to try and

get warm and dry, but regardless of the weather,

Blue Badge abuse is a problem that is not going away.

and it's happening every single day.

Fly-tipping - it looks horrible, costs a fortune to clear up,

and last year, local authorities dealt with

almost a million incidents.

Croydon Council get their fair share.

But in December 2015,

investigators Graham and Chris came across a case which...

well, beggars belief.

This is an alleyway at the back of some houses,

in a road in the Croham area of Croydon.

And this has been used on a number of occasions

to commit serious fly-tips.

These types of area are good because people don't want to be

overlooked when they're committing those offences,

they want to find somewhere quiet, discreet, out of the way.

And there was one fly-tipping felon who thought he'd found

the perfect spot to do his illegal dumping.

This, to all intents and purposes, was exactly what he was looking for.

There were three fly-tips that happened here, at this location,

quick succession, in the space of three months.

Unbelievable.

The race was now on to track the fly-tipper down and stop him

before he caused any more damage.

But as luck would have it, the lane wasn't quite as secluded

as he had hoped.

The fly-tips that occurred in this alleyway were,

fortunately for us, seen by a member of the public's CCTV.

Not so clever after all, then.

And when they saw the footage, the investigators were shocked.

Up this alleyway,

when he got to round about here, he would stop,

release the back of the tipper truck.

He would get back in the cab and then drive on down the alleyway,

leaving all of the contents of the tipper behind him.

And sometimes, well, he wouldn't even bother stopping.

The vehicle drives past with the tipper up, the tailgate dropped,

and about two tonnes of building waste,

plasterboard and dust is dumped

immediately in front of the camera.

It's quite a dreadful piece of footage.

You're telling me!

Not to mention the danger it could pose to the families

and children using this alleyway.

What a doughnut!

But guess what.

That CCTV footage was pretty clear.

Don't you just love technology?

On each of those occasions, a resident's CCTV picture

captured the registration of the vehicle involved.

We then obviously made enquiries into the keeper

of the vehicle.

The vehicle was registered to a guy called George Smith.

He'd been doing cash-in-hand house clearances and pocketing the money,

instead of paying to dispose of it.

But even having his truck seized wasn't going to stop him.

That same weekend, a couple of days later,

another vehicle was purchased by the same person,

who then came back to the same place

and committed another offence.

This numpty really doesn't learn,

and this time his new, almost identical truck was caught

on another resident's CCTV.

George Smith drove down in his new vehicle,

got to this point, couldn't drive down the alleyway

because of his own fly-tip, and had to do a three-point turn,

directly underneath the camera.

That was condemning evidence.

Gordon Bennett! You couldn't write this stuff.

So, with this new evidence,

Graham and Chris went to seize Smith's new truck.

Whilst I was seizing that in the street, a couple of days later,

George Smith approached us

and acknowledged that he was the owner of the second vehicle.

And it all then started to connect together.

The council took this serial offender straight

to the Magistrates' Court.

Unbelievably, he pleaded not guilty.

His defence, such as it was,

was that someone else must have seen his vehicles and copied them,

from numberplates to logos, to everything about the vehicle.

That's what he said had occurred.

Seriously?! That wouldn't wash with me.

But what about the judge?

That answer wasn't believed by the judge who heard the trial,

and he was found guilty.

He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment as a total.

I should think so, too.

It meant a decent spell behind bars for Mr Smith,

just because he didn't want to fork out £200

for disposing of waste properly.

There's a lot of hard work, a lot of time and effort went into it,

a lot of cost in investigating the actual offences as well.

So when we got the final result, it was very satisfying.

The members of the public are the real heroes in this.

On top of that...I think it does send out a good message to people,

that people, you know, if you commit that sort of serious offending,

-you may well end up in prison.

-Well, hopefully,

the phantom dumper will think twice about doing this again,

after a year at Her Majesty's pleasure.

Illegal truck-tippers and dodgy van drivers beware,

because today, in Cardiff, the police, HMRC, the Driver and Vehicle

Standards Agency and the council have come together to carry out

roadside checks.

PC Ian Thomas is part of the police team looking for

dodgy drivers and dangerous vehicles.

While Dan Allen works for Cardiff's waste enforcement team.

-Have you got a waste carry as well, sir?

-Yes.

Lovely. These are the ones I like, all the easy ones.

It's his job to check that van drivers have legit paperwork

to carry commercial waste.

If they haven't, he could issue them a £300 fine.

This isn't just bureaucracy gone mad.

If you haven't paid for the correct licence,

then you won't be able to dump the waste at a legit site.

Which means, yep, it gets fly-tipped.

No worries. Anyway, thanks for that.

-OK?

-Yeah, no worries. Thanks a lot.

Dan has spotted a van that he wants to check over.

This van's been pulled in here now. It's got a lot of scrap on it.

He states that he has a full waste carrier licence,

but the licence is spelt wrong.

Well, he can't spell licence, but let's hope he's actually got one.

You think you've got a waste carrier's licence?

-I've got a waste carrying licence.

-For ALL waste?

-Yeah.

That's what I need you to provide to me, and I also need you to

provide your waste transfer notes, for when you've ticked that off.

-Going to just give me a fine now, but, or what?

-They don't often ask for a fine!

But he might be about to get one anyway.

He hasn't produced a licence or a transfer note for the waste

he's carrying. So what's it to be?

A warning or a fine?

You've got seven days to provide us with those two documents

-to Cardiff Council.

-I just send them to you on e-mail or something?

He'll need more than an e-mail to get out of this one.

If you fail to do it, though, it's £300 fixed penalty for each one.

And then, obviously, if you don't pay that fine, you'll be prosecuted for the offences.

-Yeah, yeah.

-All right?

He's been given a week to find the right paperwork. If not,

he'll be getting two £300 fines for each missing document.

Wow! That's £600 in total.

He says he does have a waste carrier's licence for all vehicle...all waste.

So I've asked him to provide us with them things, but he said,

"No, just prosecute me, take me to court, or just fine me."

So I've given him the details,

he probably won't get back in contact with us now.

If he does, then lovely, we know that he's legit.

If he doesn't, then it'll be £600 fixed penalties

and then we'll prosecute him if he fails to pay.

One-two, one-two. We're not allowed.

No, you're not allowed without a permit, and it turns out

it's not just scrap he's carrying.

He's got his girlfriend with him as a passenger.

You have got a misspelling on your van.

They've missed out a C in Recycling.

-The C's gone missing.

-She's not wrong, you know.

But this is a multi-agency operation,

and now SHE'S come to the attention of HMRC.

That's the taxman to you and me.

We're not working, though. She said I'll get in trouble

-with benefits because you're giving me a lift...

-Get in here!

You're not taking her name, no. You can arrest me, do what you want.

You're not having my missus's name. Now go away!

No! I'm telling you now, eh?

Walk off. You're not getting... You haven't done nothing wrong.

I'm not saying she's done anything wrong.

No, you're not taking nothing. We're not even working, like.

-We're not giving you names.

-It's not about you working.

You're mad, you're mad!

Turns out she was just getting a lift.

But it's not been a great afternoon for the van driver either way.

We're hard-working people, like, you know what I mean?

I want to go back doing scrap, and I can't go out and collect scrap

until I have my licence sorted. I thought I'd go to the council today,

and once I'd paid and done that with them, I can go scrapping and finish off my load today.

It's been on there for, like, a month.

-What's that?

-Steak bake.

-So why are you saying it like that for?

Two.

Well, you've got to keep your strength up.

But while Dan and the waste enforcement officers have their break...

-Keys in there.

-..a van has just come in that's caught the eye

of PC Ian Thomas and the Vehicle Standards Agency.

This vehicle, it does look slightly overweight.

It's just currently being checked on the mobile weighing scales,

and we're just currently checking the weight on the vehicle,

with the driver and passenger in it as well,

to get a true reflection of the weight.

I hope you didn't have a big breakfast, lads!

It all adds up!

It's a tense wait, but are they overweight?

On this occasion, the actual vehicle looked overweight,

but on weighing the vehicle,

the vehicle is within 200kg within weight.

So he's good today.

So, they passed the weight test,

but there might be another problem.

Subsequently, all the checks that we've completed, the driver

doesn't appear to have the correct documentation for the vehicle.

The police are running checks to see if the driver is insured.

If it turns out he's not,

he could be looking at a £300 fine

and the van could even be seized.

He'd better have his fingers crossed.

I wouldn't want to have to explain that one to my boss.

So, the vehicle ultimately will be seized.

He's going to be reported for driving offences.

It's a £300 on-the-spot fine,

and the van has been confiscated.

They're going to have a long walk back from where they've come from,

Pontypridd. It's a fair distance.

So I think they've got some grovelling to do to their boss

as well, for losing their vehicle today.

Oh, dear. I hope it's not a long walk home, boys.

And their van is given a lift to the local pound.

There will be fines or fees incurred

for the release of the vehicle as well, and the storage of it.

If it's not collected, eventually it will be crushed.

It just shows - unlicensed fly-tippers and uninsured truckers,

road tax dodgers and MOT avoiders -

you get all sorts at a multi-agency vehicle check.

Have you ever not paid your fare and got away with a train ride?

Erm...

I know it's shameful to admit, but I did actually, a long time ago.

I don't like fare evaders,

because they're causing the price of the tickets

to go up for other people.

We all have to pay our way, we all go to work,

we should all pay the fare.

I'm with the guys from London Midland today - these are the fare checkers.

They're going to go up and down the train and find out if everybody's bought their tickets,

as they should've done. Now, there's one, two, three...four officers going to do it.

And they seem to think it's a very regular thing and they're going to catch people.

So, let's see what happens.

The London Midland rail franchise operates 1,300 services a day.

But they lose around £8 million a year to fare dodgers.

So it's definitely a big problem.

Train's approaching.

Today, it's the job of Mike and Jelle to catch passengers

who are travelling light.

-I'm sticking with you, Mike.

-OK.

Tickets and passes, please.

That's great, thank you very much.

Today, Mike is in charge.

He's armed, and he's not afraid to use it.

You can put your pen away for now, can't you?

All primed, ready to go. Pen in hand. LAUGHTER

But it's not long before that pen is needed, though.

You don't have a ticket?

Where are you travelling to?

To here, OK.

Looks like this passenger is trying to hitch a ride for free.

Not happy. She's now decided to get off the train, she's saying,

"This is making my day terrible. I ran for the train..."

Funny thing is, she's not out of breath.

So they obviously realise that's not quite the case,

and she's about to receive a penalty.

We treat everyone the same when we catch them on the train without a ticket.

We issue a penalty fare.

As a result of the guys starting to question about the ticket,

she said, "I'm going to get off here." This was literally one stop.

She stepped off. What I don't think people realise, I certainly didn't,

is, if you get off, they will get off with you.

So she's going to be issued with a penalty notice now.

And then, obviously, they'll get on the next train that arrives

and continue their journey.

I'm expecting her...she'll probably do the same thing.

I don't think this is actually her stop. I think she just wanted to

get away from the embarrassment of being caught without a ticket.

So, she's not able to evade the inspectors

and fixed penalty this time.

Now, though, we have to wait for the next train.

Is it quite a common thing for people to think,

by jumping off the train, that you guys are going to back off?

Absolutely, yeah. I mean, we get a lot of people saying,

"Oh, it's only one stop. Why should I get a fine? I've gone one stop?"

I'll tell you what, there's no escaping these guys.

-You're like the A-Team, aren't you?

-A little bit.

-You track them down, you hunt them down.

-I guess so, yeah.

-You're like Liam Neeson, you know.

-"We will find you, we will get you..."

-Pretty much, yeah.

-"..and we will give you a penalty." Yeah?

-Yeah.

-There might be a role for you in the movies.

-Who knows?

-What do you reckon?

I didn't think that was a half-bad impression.

But it's onto the next train, and I tell you what,

there's certainly no dust on that fine book.

Tickets and passes, please.

Why didn't you buy your ticket at Aston?

OK, unfortunately, Aston is a penalty fare station,

and you're on a penalty fare train at the moment.

Oh, dear. I bet she'll be getting off at the next stop, too.

We'll be stepping out at Sutton Coldfield with you.

Really annoying, because everybody who seems to get caught for not having a ticket

immediately gets off, which means you have to get off as well,

while the ticket's issued,

wait ten minutes, 15, whatever it is,

for the next train, and then get back on.

We've probably left Birmingham New Street about an hour ago,

we've probably only gone about two stops.

-It's like Groundhog Day, this, isn't it?

-It is, isn't it? Constant.

On, off, on, off.

I don't know whether I'm coming or going.

As soon as he realised she didn't have a ticket,

her immediate response was, "I'm just about to get off."

I get the impression a lot of people think, by doing that, the guard's going to say,

"Oh, OK, don't worry, then." But obviously it's not the case.

Not this time, and things are going from bad to worse

for this fare-dodger, as, on checking her details,

it seems she's had a brush with the inspectors before.

You have had two penalty fares.

I'm afraid the news doesn't get any better after that.

Because the one penalty fare you gave incorrect details,

and it came back as a false case and it's still open.

You gave the wrong address.

Naughty, naughty!

If you get caught giving false information to these guys,

it can go from being a simple fixed penalty

to potentially being prosecuted.

But will Mike go easy on this young lady?

I'm afraid what we have to do now is we're going to have to

conduct an interview under caution. So listen carefully, you're not under arrest.

You don't have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do

not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court.

-Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?

-Yes.

At least the sunshine's come out.

Well, not for her, it hasn't.

Our prosecutions team will contact you to discuss how it goes.

OK, that's it. You're free to go.

So now she's facing prosecution,

but this will hopefully be the last time she tries that trick.

She's only about 18 or 19, isn't she?

-18.

-18, and this is her third offence for no ticket?

-Yes.

-So there's a very strong chance, really...

It is quite strong if it's her third offence, that, at 18 years old,

-she could end up with a criminal record.

-It is a possibility, yeah.

Cor, what a waste!

Whilst we're here, it would be rude not to check everyone's tickets

at the station. And these guys are on fire.

So, date and time, Sutton Coldfield, you've been found at the station without a ticket today.

-Yeah.

-There's £20 now outstanding. Would you like to pay that today or within 21 days?

-21 days.

-Cool. Just make sure you get a ticket before you get on the train in future.

Or keep it on you until you've left the station.

-No problem, darling.

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

And this guy's partner has been caught short as well.

That's a double whammy. 40 quid!

Tell me the honest truth, don't you interrupt me...

-I won't.

-Why haven't you got a ticket?

-I left it on the train.

-Did you seriously? That's what he said.

Yeah, I seriously left it on the train. I've even got the change. Hang on.

The right change for the ticket. I thought you said YOU bought the ticket!

-Well, we both...

-Out of my money.

Hang on a second. Hang on a second. Back there he said, "I bought the ticket."

This fella's a chum, you know. He is...

Ugh, no, don't kiss me!

I'm going to let you go. Cheers.

Did they buy a ticket? Yes, Dom. Whoa!

Yeah, hang on a second.

He kissed me head!

CHUCKLING

Time to head back to Birmingham, I think.

And at least someone on this journey is being a good boy.

Give me a paw, give me a paw.

Show me your ticket. OK, you've got a ticket, there you go.

Well-behaved, eh? Well-behaved.

I tell you what, we've just come from... Well, we didn't even get as far as Lichfield,

because we went in one direction and there was so many people avoiding the tickets,

we had to keep getting off the train, so we actually got as far as

Sutton Coldfield, crossed over the platform, came back again,

and there were people who were even on that platform with us,

surrounded by ticket inspectors, who still got on the train

without a ticket and thought it was all right.

It shocked me just how many people will take it for granted,

"I'm not going to buy a ticket and I'll get away with it,

"and if I don't, I'm going to argue it tooth and nail."

It's jaw-dropping.

I tell you what, being out with

Britain's enforcement officers is a real eye-opener.

Join us next time for more Dom On The Spot.