Bash Cash Traffic Cops


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Tonight, an armed murder suspect is up to his neck in trouble.

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You're arrested on suspicion of murder.

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Can you do me a favour, can you just spit your gum out?

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A lying driver has the traffic cops breathing down his neck.

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-Nothing at all?

-I've had a little bit.

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A brass-necked swan brings the rush hour to a standstill.

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These things are so powerful, they'll break your arm.

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And crash for cash fraudsters are leading a whiplash epidemic.

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Saw some flashing lights and they all jumped back in and...

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A pain in the neck for everybody.

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A front seat passenger's saying he's got stiff neck.

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It's so common nowadays.

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For many people out there,

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they see whiplash as an opportunity to make some easy money.

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There are 34 million vehicles on Britain's roads.

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At times it seems as though they're all on the M1.

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Especially when you're travelling

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through the roadworks in Bedfordshire.

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Whenever there's an accident on this stretch,

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traffic on the motorway is brought to a standstill.

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Fire engine is blocking the carriageway.

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Today it's Keith Nicholson and Andy Scales' job to get it going again.

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We got dispatched to what was described

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as a two-vehicle collision in the contraflow

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somewhere near Toddington.

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The contraflow is a way of managing traffic with lanes

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going in opposite directions to normal.

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The timing of the roadworks was such that they were down

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to one contraflow and one other running lane.

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Yeah, copy that, do we know if they're trapped and injured,

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or just physically...

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There was very, very little room for manoeuvre for the general public,

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let alone fire engines and ambulances and us, even.

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It's only a bit of a rear ender,

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but the occupants of the two cars involved, all nine of them,

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are arguing over who's to blame.

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They seemed to be having a few heated words amongst themselves.

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There were no fisticuffs or anything of that nature,

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but they were certainly displeased with each other.

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Now the cops are here, they've all got back into their cars,

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feeling the effects of the crash.

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No-one had any obvious injuries,

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certainly no-one was pouring with blood or screaming in pain.

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The people in the car with the Asian family,

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a few of them were complaining of soreness to their necks.

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Nothing that would give me any great cause for concern.

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But an air ambulance has been called for just in case.

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Any suspected spinal injury

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is treated as if it could be life-threatening.

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A fractured neck cannot be ruled out until an X-ray is taken.

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If you are involved in an accident and you're complaining of neck pain

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or back pain, somebody gets in the car,

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they hold onto your jaw bone, stop you from moving your neck

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in case you're going to strain your spinal column

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and then the fire service, God bless them,

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they like to take the roofs off every car they come to with anybody

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like that because that's the best way to extract somebody for a car.

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To make matters worse, another incident has just taken place.

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A further collision was reported probably 400 yards up the road

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and so we were able to dispatch Chris and Tan to help us out

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with the one further up the road.

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It's another pretty minor shunt caused by rubberneckers

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slowing down to see what was going on

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across the road in the contraflow.

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Is it just a one vehicle here?

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-It's just these two vehicles involved?

-These two.

-OK.

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A Polish female had collided into the back of another vehicle.

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Do you mind coming with me to my car?

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We'll just have a quick chat. Go ahead.

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They were driving back to Poland, so they were on their day to Dover.

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So the female was quite upset as to what had happened.

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But I think it was a result of the first accident that this occurred.

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Don't worry. You've not done anything wrong.

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OK?

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Do you know what type of injuries they've got?

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My wife got injured in back.

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A female passenger in the car that was struck from behind

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has been taken to hospital with a back injury.

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Her husband is sure who was to blame.

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I was driving in my car and that car hit me.

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There was no car before me.

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Right, you can go. All right?

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We're going to recover you to...

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Can I stay with them?

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Yes, yes. Don't panic.

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From what the gentleman said he was travelling at 45 miles an hour

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and there was no traffic in front of him.

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And all of a sudden this woman collided into the back of him,

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so unfortunately, as you know, witnesses don't hang about

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on the motorway, they tend to disappear

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so it's a bit difficult to get an account of exactly what's happened.

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The hardest thing to remember about any accident,

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it's normally caused by a momentary lapse of concentration.

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You should stay in your car, guys, always.

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The two crashes have caused chaos which isn't being helped

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by some gawkers that weren't involved getting in the way.

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These idiots have decided to come out

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and have a look at what's going on.

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And now what's happening,

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the vehicles in the contraflow are reversing back

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to join the main carriageway because they won't get through.

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As these guys have decided to walk down and see what's going on

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and what all the fuss is about, the vehicles have started

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to reverse back, so the vehicle they're in is somewhere back there,

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hopefully making his way back here.

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And now they're left standing at the side of the road.

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Like a pair of numpties.

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After a brush with the law, the law with a brush.

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Once the vehicles had been recovered we were happy that it was all clear,

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we went to see if we could offer any assistance for the first one.

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After having got back into their cars,

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the fire brigade have now had to cut the roofs off

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to get all the occupants out again.

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They couldn't take any risks with the injuries

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-they were claiming to have suffered.

-It's overkill.

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They've seen flashing lights in the distance,

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they've jumped back in the car.

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As far as I'm concerned, they're only after compensation.

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The cops suspect they're making the most of the situation.

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They've even got a name for this kind of behaviour.

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We think it's a bit of bash cash.

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Which is our technical term for

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"let's get as much money out of this as possible".

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What annoys us, and gets on our nerves more than anything,

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is the inconvenience to every innocent person passing

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and also the cost of three emergency services

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plus a helicopter plus the Highways Agency

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plus everything else that's in for a recovery,

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all that we have to pay for just for a bit of compo.

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Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible, even for a doctor,

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to diagnose or disprove whiplash.

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Which car was she in?

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The front one, here.

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OK. Can I take her details, please?

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I've got no doubt that it was a pure accident.

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However, once that's happened, they've seen the pound signs

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flash in front of their eyes and managed to make the most of it.

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Because of hospital capacity,

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the scene commander has tried to organise where all these people

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are going to and, at the moment, we've got three people

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from the same family going to different hospitals.

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They've got c-spine, bash cash neck and abdominal pain.

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-So they're all at the LND.

-They're all at the LND.

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It's preposterous.

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A waste of time and society needs to change.

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It needs to change this injury claims

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"I'm going to get one up on you, everything I do is going to pay out"

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because you don't pay out, you end up paying more for the insurance.

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I've never seen anything like it,

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where a whole family is trying it on.

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-Chris, are we going?

-Yeah, we're going. See you later.

-Thanks, mate.

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Andy knows better than most what the real effects of whiplash are.

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There was a pursuit in Luton where the guy was driving

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so dangerously that I thought it necessary to force him off the road.

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That involved contact between our two vehicles.

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What could be considered a reasonably high speed,

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we were sort of doing about 25, 30 mile an hour at the time,

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which doesn't sound a great deal, but when we ended up embedded

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into a brick wall it suddenly became very, very fast indeed.

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And it was from that, that I sustained a bit of whiplash.

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It lasted a day or two,

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but there was nothing more than a couple of paracetamol didn't cure.

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I had a day off work.

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It didn't necessitate any compensation at all.

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It was one of those things and you just get on with it.

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Thankfully, pursuits are becoming much more rare these days.

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When they do happen, what sparks them off can be quite unpredictable.

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As Pat Reynolds recently found out after he pulled a speeder over

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back on the M1.

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Call my girlfriend, please.

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Pat has got the man in the back of his car for questioning.

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But he's feeling a little claustrophobic.

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Open the door!

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Open the door!

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Can you open the door?

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The female passenger was outside the car.

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She was trying to open the back door to allow him to get out.

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I was waiting for the nearest unit.

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I was hoping they were going to turn up.

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Open the door!

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He's making his escape through the unlocked driver's door.

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Standing with my back to the live carriageway, with the door open.

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If he'd pushed me, I would have gone flying into the carriageway

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and I didn't know what was coming, there could be HGVs or anything.

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Being single-crewed, Pat can't do much to stop the man from leaving.

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I tried to reason with him and talk to him

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and tell him not to get back in his car, but he just didn't listen.

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The driver had overtaken Pat doing more than 100 miles an hour.

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He's from Manchester and still seems to be in a hurry to get home.

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Then I called the control room to let them know what was going on.

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His driving was dangerous.

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He didn't have any consideration for the other road users.

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The car was fish-tailing.

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The man's trying his chances off the motorway.

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Luckily there wasn't much traffic

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this time of night, it was about 12 or 1am.

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A traffic vehicle going the other way was trying to join me.

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What the man doesn't know is that he's heading straight

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for the scene of a possibly fatal accident.

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Traffic units had closed the road and were investigating the scene.

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And I was aware he was heading straight towards that scene.

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I was giving the control room the commentary about where he was going

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and the way he was driving and to warn the officers

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at the scene of the accident that he was coming their way.

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There could easily be another disaster.

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Luckily the officers had heard my commentary

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and were aware he was coming, so they had all got off the carriageway.

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And they've left behind a stinger on the road surface.

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It was just his luck to come this way.

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Another traffic cop has deployed another stinger.

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And he's running on rims.

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He's travelling on the wrong side of the road now

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and there's a car coming towards him on the right side of the road.

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A marked traffic car takes over.

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The stinger has slowed the man down.

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Now the cops are going to stop him.

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I think he was conscious that this car

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would collide with the oncoming traffic,

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so decided to make some tactical contact to bring it to a stop.

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He was charged with driving whilst disqualified,

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dangerous driving and failing to stop for police

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and for driving with no insurance.

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Just north of London, in Watford,

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traffic officers Ross Clark and Dave Marshall

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have spotted some suspicious late-night activity.

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There was a large group of males,

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all stood round a couple of cars.

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And there looked like there was a heated discussion

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going on that may turn into a fight.

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So, better than just let them get on with it,

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we drove round there just to see what was going on

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and see if we can disperse it.

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Some of the men have left in a Renault Clio.

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The rest are in a brand new Jaguar.

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I could just tell that something wasn't right.

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They all got back into this Jag,

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and then he attempted to do a U turn

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and go the wrong way on a one-way street.

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-You can't.

-Do you think this geezer's got a driving licence?

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We thought we better have a bit of a discussion with him

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and make sure he is who he's telling us he is and...

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-Want to speak to him?

-Yeah.

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Whose car's that? It's a hire vehicle.

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-Do you have a driving licence?

-Oh yes.

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You do. Do you have any ID at all on you?

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Not at the moment.

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Ross smells a rat.

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It was a bit strange. Like they were trying to hide something.

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Pop yourself out.

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Chaps, you stay in the car, I'll speak to this gentlemen.

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Just pop in. Come here.

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Have you ever been nicked before?

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-Have you been drinking at all?

-No.

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'The driver was a big old lad.'

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OK. We're going to have a bit of a problem if I can't identify you

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and you've got no ID.

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'He must have been about six foot two.'

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And he was just really kind of sullen.

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Your name?

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Imrul Hussain.

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-Sorry?

-Imrul.

-How do you spell that?

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Imrul.

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Hussain?

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'Always suspicious when people chew gum.'

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Can you do me a favour, just spit your gum out?

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Blow towards me.

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Nothing at all?

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I've had a little bit, but a long time ago.

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He had to bend quite far down to blow into my face

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and he smelled of alcohol.

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Got any points on that licence?

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-A couple.

-Two points?

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-A couple of points.

-What was that for?

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I can't even remember.

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OK.

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Cos of the manoeuvre you performed there...

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Manoeuvre?

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Doing a U turn to go the wrong way down a one way street

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and you've admitted having alcohol.

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No, I didn't know which way to go.

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I need you to blow into that for me. Take a deep breath and blow in.

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Keep going, keep going, that's it. Pull the end off of that.

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Alpha India November, first name is India Mike Romeo...

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What does that say?

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-You've failed, mate.

-Failed?

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You've blown 44 which is over the roadside limit.

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Is that a U or an L? Imrul?

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-U.

-U.

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Ah.

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You are known to us a lot.

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-Just...

-Can you do me a favour?

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Can you just put them in your pocket, just go to custody and...

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-What's that? On me?

-No, no, no it's H's jewellery.

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Yeah, give me the jewellery.

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-Give it to him.

-Officer, can I take the jewellery.

-Yeah.

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Ross and Dave have got themselves a drink driver,

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but are pretty sure there's something else going on.

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Just stand here and talk to me.

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You've got a really expensive Jag there, that's a hire car.

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Where does that come into it?

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And then there was all that swapping over of jewellery

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and stuff like that.

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Thank you, thank you.

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Dave has discovered a small bag of cannabis...

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-What's that?

-Right, you're also under arrest for possession...

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-..Much to the man's amazement.

-Have you got any more on you?

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As if I'd just planted it on him or something.

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I don't know what he was thinking there.

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And then he says, "This is your jacket to his friend,"

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and his friend very quickly says, "But that's not my drugs."

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Right, this was in that jacket.

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-No, it's not mine.

-It's yours then, innit?

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This wasn't my jacket.

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THEY SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE

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Imrul is going to be taken to the nick.

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His friends, a pretty mixed bunch, are still riding for a fall.

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'And there was a little lad who was probably only about 18 years old.

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'And there was a guy in a suit

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'who was really smartly dressed

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'and then this chap in shorts and sort of casual wear.'

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One looked like he'd been to a wedding,

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the other one looked like he'd been to a barbecue.

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What's going on?

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Are you Shia Ahmed?

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Shia Ahmed, that's my friend here.

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So he's not insured to drive that then?

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-Sorry, who?

-This guy, in the back of the car here,

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isn't insured to drive that car, is he?

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As far as I know yeah, he is.

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And an additional driver of Ashrak Ali. Who's Ashrak?

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He's one of my friend's uncle.

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So this bloke's not either of those two people, is he?

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Sorry?

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The guy in the back of this car here is not listed on that policy, is he?

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So he shouldn't be driving it, should he?

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He's not insured to drive it.

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It was just a nightmare because I was trying to deal with them

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and they were all just talking at me at once.

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Why are you taking the car?

0:17:540:17:56

Because none of you lot are allowed to drive it,

0:17:560:17:58

he's been driving it and he shouldn't be.

0:17:580:18:00

-Let him come, I'll call him. He'll come now.

-Yeah.

0:18:000:18:02

Where's your keys then, he needs the keys to drive it.

0:18:020:18:05

If he's playing silly buggers and whatever he's done with the keys...

0:18:050:18:08

Who's a silly bug anyway?!

0:18:080:18:10

They're trying anything not to lose their Jag.

0:18:100:18:12

-But they're getting nowhere fast.

-He's under arrest now, mate.

0:18:120:18:15

One of them had the keys and they were just messing around.

0:18:150:18:18

They wouldn't give us the keys.

0:18:180:18:20

If you want.

0:18:200:18:22

Just watch him for a second. I'll go and check...

0:18:220:18:25

Get a local unit down and sit with that. Recover it.

0:18:250:18:28

Please, if you can just...

0:18:330:18:35

You drove off.

0:18:350:18:36

The driver is insisting that he wasn't driving the car,

0:18:360:18:39

but that one of his friends was.

0:18:390:18:42

And the friend has got the proof that he's legal to drive it.

0:18:420:18:45

I've got my counterpart.

0:18:450:18:46

You've got your counterpart and your bank card.

0:18:460:18:49

But there's a problem...

0:18:490:18:51

My licence has been confiscated and I need to go collect it.

0:18:510:18:54

It's been confiscated?

0:18:540:18:56

Yeah, because my nephew took it without my permission.

0:18:560:18:58

Right, and...?

0:18:580:19:00

-He tried getting into a club.

-Right.

0:19:000:19:04

So how are you going to prove to me you're the person you say you are?

0:19:040:19:07

Basically, officer, if you don't believe me...

0:19:070:19:09

Seriously. I ain't got a problem with it, you can take me home.

0:19:090:19:13

Seriously, if you take me home, my mum will confirm it.

0:19:130:19:15

-I don't want to take you home.

-My mum will confirm it. Seriously.

0:19:150:19:18

'He was clearly no older than 18. He looked so young.'

0:19:180:19:21

Buddy, I don't really believe that you are who you say you are.

0:19:210:19:25

-You don't?

-No, I don't.

-Take him home.

0:19:250:19:27

He was trying to convince me that he was 33. No way.

0:19:270:19:33

No way. Whatever he's been taking, I want some of it.

0:19:330:19:36

-Give me the car keys.

-You want to... Take him home, take him home.

0:19:360:19:40

-I don't want to take him home.

-Why not?

-He's under arrest.

0:19:400:19:42

I'm not going to be taking you home, am I?

0:19:420:19:45

'Coincidentally the photo card part just wasn't there.

0:19:450:19:47

'I didn't believe him for a minute.

0:19:490:19:51

'No, he wasn't getting the car.'

0:19:510:19:53

Are we going to get this 165a'd?

0:19:530:19:55

Well, can we prove who the owner of that is at the moment,

0:19:550:19:58

who's been registered to that car?

0:19:580:20:00

Fella. You're beginning to grate on me.

0:20:000:20:01

Open my door again and you will really upset me.

0:20:010:20:04

Go over there, stand there and get out of my face.

0:20:040:20:08

You understand me?

0:20:080:20:11

Right, where was I?

0:20:110:20:14

You were telling me who's got this car.

0:20:140:20:16

Yeah, this little fella there reckons he's the bloke

0:20:160:20:19

-on the hire agreement.

-Yeah.

0:20:190:20:21

But he hasn't produced me any good ID, so I don't believe him.

0:20:210:20:25

By all accounts he's older than me, and look at him.

0:20:250:20:27

He looks the youngest out of all of them, doesn't he?

0:20:270:20:30

So where's the bloke...?

0:20:340:20:35

The man's spilling the beans through gritted teeth.

0:20:440:20:47

I cannot do anything. I cannot mess around with these people.

0:20:470:20:51

When you lot came around and when you gave directions....

0:20:510:20:55

He was a bit like a ventriloquist's dummy.

0:20:550:20:57

He was sat in the back of the car, just talking like this.

0:20:570:21:00

And he goes, "I can't let them know I'm talking to you."

0:21:000:21:03

And I was sort of, what are you doing?

0:21:030:21:05

You're not phoning that in. If I say anything,

0:21:050:21:09

if anything happens I'll get dumped in a holder.

0:21:090:21:11

He's going, "They'll beat me up if they know I'm talking to you."

0:21:110:21:14

You think to yourself, why? They don't know what you're saying to me.

0:21:140:21:18

They can't be the world's best lip readers.

0:21:180:21:20

It's 5am and backup's arrived to supervise

0:21:200:21:24

the recovery of the Jag and to disperse the young men.

0:21:240:21:27

Their dumb friend, meanwhile, is going to custody.

0:21:270:21:31

The only route out of that situation was him going to a police station,

0:21:310:21:34

whether he liked it or not.

0:21:340:21:35

And he could tell me everything under the sun,

0:21:350:21:37

but he was going to that police station

0:21:370:21:39

to do another breath test and to find out who he really was.

0:21:390:21:42

OK, it's come up 44 and 46.

0:21:450:21:48

'We take the lowest reading, which was 44.'

0:21:480:21:50

And then we get what's called a statutory option if it's 40 to 50,

0:21:500:21:54

where he can go for a blood sample instead of the breath test.

0:21:540:21:57

And he chose to do that.

0:21:570:21:59

I'll pop you in the cell here.

0:21:590:22:00

A doctor will come out and take blood from you shortly.

0:22:000:22:03

The man's got a problem with the sleeping arrangements.

0:22:100:22:13

For some reason there was a mattress in his cell

0:22:130:22:16

which was a thin one, and he had to have a thick one.

0:22:160:22:19

I wouldn't want you to not have a comfortable night's sleep.

0:22:230:22:26

I'd been on for nearly 10 hours, 11 hours,

0:22:260:22:28

and I just wanted to go home, and the easiest way to go home

0:22:280:22:32

was just to give him the mattress he wants.

0:22:320:22:34

Right, see you in a bit.

0:22:360:22:39

Upstairs, after getting the results back

0:22:390:22:41

from the man's fingerprint check, Ross has got some food for thought.

0:22:410:22:45

He's been telling pork pies about who he is. He's a disqualified driver.

0:22:460:22:50

And this is the second time he's been caught disqual driving.

0:22:500:22:54

Yeah.

0:22:560:22:57

And the third time drink driving, I think. Beautiful.

0:23:010:23:04

When we found out who he was, his history was just as colourful

0:23:120:23:14

as the other person that he said he was.

0:23:140:23:17

-Right, have you got a big rose on your back?

-A big rose?

-Rose.

-Yeah.

0:23:170:23:20

Right, yeah, that's it.

0:23:200:23:23

Then we went into the cell to say the game's up, we know who you are,

0:23:230:23:26

your fingerprints have come back and you're disqualified.

0:23:260:23:29

It's spelt Raz on there.

0:23:290:23:31

-You're a disqualified driver?

-Yes.

0:23:310:23:33

You're further under arrest for disqualified driving.

0:23:330:23:36

Didn't even bother getting out of bed.

0:23:360:23:38

He was just with the blanket pulled up, and he's like,

0:23:380:23:41

"Yeah, OK, that's me."

0:23:410:23:43

With the early morning rush hour well underway,

0:23:440:23:47

the M1 north of London and the surrounding area

0:23:470:23:50

is not a place for the faint-hearted.

0:23:500:23:52

To make matters worse today,

0:23:530:23:56

the control centre have spotted a problem.

0:23:560:23:58

Sorry, go again with that.

0:23:590:24:01

A very unusual job has come in.

0:24:010:24:03

Traffic cop Chris Payne is going to take care of the situation.

0:24:080:24:13

Whereabouts? We've got GPS in our cars.

0:24:130:24:16

Control can see where we are and at that moment unfortunately

0:24:160:24:21

I was the closest unit and unfortunately

0:24:210:24:23

the rest of my colleagues

0:24:230:24:24

were scattered about further afield,

0:24:240:24:27

so I drew the short straw.

0:24:270:24:29

Chris has a view on swans. He's used to dealing with troublemakers.

0:24:290:24:33

They are violent little things.

0:24:330:24:36

Zero six, he's sitting on the central grass verge.

0:24:380:24:42

I'm just putting a rolling block on.

0:24:420:24:45

A rolling block is a way of backing up all the traffic

0:24:450:24:48

behind the patrol car and bringing it slowly to a halt.

0:24:480:24:51

That then creates a sterile area in which you can work

0:24:510:24:54

to deal with whatever incident you're going to.

0:24:540:24:58

Experience means nothing with these things. Oh, look.

0:24:580:25:02

Here you go. It's saying hello.

0:25:020:25:04

You think of swans as those lovely animals

0:25:040:25:07

that you're feeding on a Sunday morning with the kids.

0:25:070:25:12

They're not.

0:25:120:25:13

They're violent. They really are.

0:25:130:25:16

Being caught up in heavy traffic,

0:25:160:25:19

it's no wonder this one looks a little cross.

0:25:190:25:21

We have heard of incidents in the past where

0:25:280:25:31

a swan flapping out when somebody's trying to grab hold of it

0:25:310:25:34

has broken people's arms.

0:25:340:25:37

They are so strong. They don't look it.

0:25:370:25:40

It's turning into a bit of a wild goose chase for Chris.

0:25:400:25:43

'You don't know what they're going to do,

0:25:430:25:45

'and they can do anything without any warning.'

0:25:450:25:48

'He went to take off, but he headed towards the central barrier.'

0:25:570:26:02

My heart stopped.

0:26:020:26:03

I'm hoping he don't fly straight into that oncoming traffic.

0:26:030:26:08

I'm very worried that this thing's going to jump

0:26:080:26:10

straight into the path of oncoming traffic on that side, over.

0:26:100:26:14

-'I'll see what I can do for you.'

-Thank you.

0:26:140:26:18

RADIO CRACKLES

0:26:180:26:20

'Tango, Alpha, you'll get to this quicker,

0:26:200:26:22

'can you go on an immediate to the A44 at Hatfield?

0:26:220:26:25

'We've found a swan.'

0:26:280:26:29

'It is quite funny to watch, but it does have a serious point'

0:26:290:26:33

and any second, it could have gone horribly, horribly wrong.

0:26:330:26:37

Unfortunately, my applause is not helping him get up off the ground.

0:26:440:26:48

It's a lame duck as far as this morning's commuters are concerned.

0:26:480:26:52

I'm going to have to open up this for a bit,

0:26:520:26:55

because Uniform 6 is on their way, but they're going to be some time

0:26:550:26:58

so I can't keep this blocked for the entire time.

0:26:580:27:01

It's going to make a lot of people unhappy.

0:27:010:27:03

So I'll stick the car on the verge.

0:27:030:27:06

As long as he stays still, then we'll just leave it at that for now

0:27:060:27:09

until the other unit gets to that end

0:27:090:27:11

and then we can get a total block on and try and get him off.

0:27:110:27:14

While Chris struggles

0:27:170:27:18

to get his feathered friend to stretch his wings,

0:27:180:27:21

a few miles away, Ross and Tim Hill

0:27:210:27:25

have got an altogether more menacing job coming in.

0:27:250:27:28

Whisky three, we're in South Mimms village now.

0:27:320:27:35

A car connected with a major crime has been spotted nearby.

0:27:350:27:39

It's a high-ac report.

0:27:410:27:42

Just running it through now.

0:27:450:27:46

120 silver, male keeper from Plymouth,

0:27:460:27:50

a high-monitor crime,

0:27:500:27:52

substantiated intelligence that this male may carry a firearm

0:27:520:27:56

so monitor only, monitor only.

0:27:560:28:00

We received a call on the radio to say that a vehicle

0:28:000:28:04

had activated the ANPR camera.

0:28:040:28:07

The ANPR camera is one of thousands

0:28:070:28:10

of fixed roadside number-plate reading cameras in a network

0:28:100:28:13

spread across the country that is virtually inescapable.

0:28:130:28:17

Came across and said there was

0:28:180:28:21

very good credible intelligence by Avon and Somerset police

0:28:210:28:25

that the chap who owns and drives this vehicle

0:28:250:28:28

is involved in gun crime

0:28:280:28:30

and will have a gun, will have a firearm on him.

0:28:300:28:33

To their horror, Tim and Ross have found the BMW like a shot.

0:28:330:28:37

Oh, (BLEEP) me, that's it.

0:28:370:28:39

Tango one whisky three, can I come in?

0:28:390:28:41

So at that point I was like,

0:28:420:28:44

"Yeah, I don't really want to be stopping this, I'm quite nervous."

0:28:440:28:48

The car is heading down the A1 into London, and unfamiliar territory.

0:28:480:28:51

'Go on, Whisky three.'

0:28:520:28:54

Yeah, we're behind that vehicle with the firearms marker.

0:28:540:28:57

We are approaching Apex corner.

0:28:570:28:59

The controller has got some rather chilling news about the suspect.

0:28:590:29:03

Ah, OK. Little more serious. OK.

0:29:080:29:11

At that point, knowing what offence it had been involved in,

0:29:110:29:14

we were feeling quite twitchy.

0:29:140:29:15

Whisky three, vehicle lane one of two. Four zero.

0:29:170:29:21

We're still behind it. Appears to be one male occupant.

0:29:230:29:25

I can't see whether he's black or white.

0:29:250:29:28

We're approaching Mill Hill and Broadway roundabout.

0:29:280:29:30

You couldn't see as the headrest was in the way.

0:29:300:29:33

You also couldn't see through the mirrors because they were tinted.

0:29:330:29:36

So we really didn't know what we'd got at that point.

0:29:360:29:39

Big gap in case he gets out with a gun.

0:29:390:29:41

I suspect the Met will get one of their Trojan units

0:29:410:29:44

or a couple of their Trojan units to do some kind of a hard stop on him.

0:29:440:29:48

The problem is us patching through to them,

0:29:480:29:50

getting through to them and then them getting to us.

0:29:500:29:53

You know, it could be another 10, 15 minutes.

0:29:530:29:55

If he comes to a stop before the Met get here, what are we going to do?

0:29:550:30:00

Because if the male suspect is being wanted for murder

0:30:000:30:03

and he's, you know, carrying a gun,

0:30:030:30:05

then I don't really fancy spraying him with Pava.

0:30:050:30:08

The potential of a firearm in that vehicle is quite a scary thing.

0:30:080:30:12

So we treat it with extreme caution.

0:30:130:30:15

It's a watching and waiting game for Tim and Ross.

0:30:150:30:19

Only the Met Police's firearms teams

0:30:190:30:21

will be able to apprehend the BMW driver.

0:30:210:30:24

It's the "not knowing what's going to happen next" scenario.

0:30:240:30:27

The whole gun thing unnerves me a little bit.

0:30:270:30:29

Think that's a Trojan unit on the way.

0:30:310:30:33

'When I heard their Trojan vehicles, their armed response vehicles,'

0:30:330:30:37

when I heard the Trojan call signs call up,

0:30:370:30:39

I was, "Thank God for that. How far away are they?"

0:30:390:30:41

'There's an marked ARB coming towards you.

0:30:410:30:44

'As you see it in your rear-view mirror,

0:30:440:30:46

'just pull to the left-hand side and let it pass, please.

0:30:460:30:48

'Then if you can put a road block in sort of about 20-30 metres behind us

0:30:480:30:52

'just to allow us to conduct the stop, over.'

0:30:520:30:56

That's all received, we will do.

0:30:560:30:57

It's the vehicle directly in front of us.

0:30:570:31:00

I'm happy now people are here with guns.

0:31:000:31:02

The Met Police are taking over.

0:31:020:31:04

Their country cousins from Hertfordshire

0:31:040:31:06

can breathe easy again.

0:31:060:31:09

'It was quite a relief

0:31:100:31:12

'when they said they were on Willesden High Road

0:31:120:31:15

'and then they said, "So we can come in," so we sort of backed off.'

0:31:150:31:19

'And then they came in and put a stop.

0:31:200:31:23

'The chap just got out

0:31:230:31:24

'and they took him away from the vehicle and searched him.'

0:31:240:31:27

And it appears the information about the man was right.

0:31:270:31:30

He is armed.

0:31:300:31:32

'In a carrier bag in the boot was a handgun.'

0:31:320:31:36

Tango one whisky three, there is a firearm in the vehicle.

0:31:360:31:40

Buddy, I'm telling you, you're being arrested on suspicion of murder.

0:31:400:31:43

Also under arrest on suspicion of possession of a firearm. OK?

0:31:430:31:47

-Come with me, bud.

-Are you being serious?

0:31:470:31:49

-Do I look like I'm being serious?

-Murder?

-Absolutely.

0:31:490:31:52

He's been searched for weapons.

0:31:520:31:54

The gun is a replica.

0:31:540:31:56

But still a very convincing-looking one.

0:31:560:31:59

You've got the wrong person, innit? It's a mistake.

0:31:590:32:02

It's not an offence to have it

0:32:020:32:03

as long as he's got a legitimate reason.

0:32:030:32:07

He was cool, he was calm, almost arrogant.

0:32:070:32:10

'He's adamant he's got nothing to do with any fatal shooting at all.

0:32:100:32:14

'So as if to say, "You prove I was involved."'

0:32:140:32:17

On my way to the barber's shop to get a haircut

0:32:170:32:20

and look at the harassment I'm getting.

0:32:200:32:22

He had a smirk on his face. He was laughing on the way back to custody.

0:32:220:32:26

Meanwhile, back on the dual carriageway in Hertfordshire,

0:32:270:32:30

Chris isn't laughing.

0:32:300:32:32

The traffic has resumed, but he's still got the bird to bag.

0:32:320:32:36

I really don't think this thing's going to move of its own accord.

0:32:360:32:39

RSPCA are only about 15 minutes away

0:32:390:32:42

so hopefully they'll be able to come out, shift it off for us

0:32:420:32:45

and yeah, drop it home.

0:32:450:32:47

Chris has got a name for his new friend.

0:32:470:32:50

I called him Keith.

0:32:500:32:51

Last one I dealt with was called Bob.

0:32:510:32:53

So yeah, Keith and Bob.

0:32:550:32:57

I had half the shift turn up in the end. More people kept turning up.

0:32:570:33:00

Don't want to stay here and babysit a swan, do you?

0:33:000:33:03

Three police cars there at one point.

0:33:030:33:05

About five officers there dealing with a swan.

0:33:050:33:08

More importantly, the expert from the RSPCA has arrived.

0:33:080:33:11

'She got out her weapon of choice, which didn't look nice.

0:33:120:33:17

'From the looks of it, the swan has dealt with that before.

0:33:170:33:21

'He knew exactly what was going to happen.'

0:33:210:33:23

But coy Keith is having none of it.

0:33:230:33:26

Go on, son. Go on, Keith.

0:33:260:33:29

It was like watching a 737 take off.

0:33:310:33:34

The term "swan song" comes from a legend

0:33:360:33:39

that while mute all their lives, swans sing just before they die.

0:33:390:33:43

Thankfully, Keith hasn't started singing just yet.

0:33:450:33:48

The man arrested in London isn't singing at all either.

0:33:510:33:55

He's adamant the cops have got the wrong man.

0:33:550:33:57

His story was that he'd been involved in the gang scene

0:33:570:34:02

and he had been around firearms,

0:34:020:34:04

been arrested for firearms and stuff like that

0:34:040:34:08

and he had turned a leaf over in a book

0:34:080:34:10

and now he was promoting youngsters getting out of gangs.

0:34:100:34:14

That replica firearm was a prop.

0:34:140:34:17

The gentleman here has been arrested for the offence of murder.

0:34:170:34:20

'Coincidentally, Avon and Somerset police

0:34:200:34:23

'were already at Wembley police station

0:34:230:34:26

'dealing with another offender from the same incident.'

0:34:260:34:28

So we were able to liaise with them

0:34:280:34:31

and ultimately they came across and they dealt with the offender

0:34:310:34:35

and so it was more a case of us then putting him in the cell,

0:34:350:34:39

seizing his clothing for evidential purposes,

0:34:390:34:41

writing out reports, which took some time,

0:34:410:34:45

and then hand the whole job over.

0:34:450:34:47

The ANPR camera network is all very well

0:34:470:34:50

for picking out dodgy vehicles

0:34:500:34:52

that have been put on the police's computer database.

0:34:520:34:55

But only cops in cars can spot road users committing everyday offences

0:34:550:34:59

like those in this oncoming van.

0:34:590:35:02

No seatbelts on any of them.

0:35:050:35:06

PCs Chris Thompson and Neil Crosier

0:35:060:35:08

have got well-trained eyes for the job.

0:35:080:35:10

You could clearly see that the driver

0:35:100:35:13

and the passenger nearest the passenger side door

0:35:130:35:16

didn't have their seat belt on.

0:35:160:35:18

People do different things when they're not wearing their seat belt,

0:35:180:35:21

for some reason. They seem to highlight it to you,

0:35:210:35:24

as opposed to just driving like they normally would and not wearing it.

0:35:240:35:27

They'll lean to one side or they'll have an arm there

0:35:270:35:31

or they'll start scratching here,

0:35:310:35:33

just to try and mask the fact that that belt's not across.

0:35:330:35:37

Tango one. Whisky seven for vehicle check, please.

0:35:380:35:40

The van's looking a trifle overloaded as well,

0:35:400:35:43

with all sorts of stuff.

0:35:430:35:45

Wardrobes,

0:35:470:35:49

just general scrap, really.

0:35:490:35:51

Neil's got good reason to believe what he saw at first sight.

0:35:540:35:57

'You know, generally, seat belts are black.

0:35:570:36:00

'It's quite obvious if you haven't got it on.

0:36:000:36:03

'You know, I'd rather someone just hold their hands up'

0:36:030:36:06

and say, "I'm sorry, I haven't been wearing it."

0:36:060:36:08

Instead of us standing there having to have some sort of argument

0:36:080:36:12

for the fact that I know they haven't got it on

0:36:120:36:14

and they try to convince me they have.

0:36:140:36:16

I had my seat belt on, but it's a bit broke.

0:36:160:36:18

No, you didn't, because you've got a nice orange shirt on,

0:36:180:36:20

I could clearly see as you went past you didn't have a seat belt on.

0:36:200:36:23

-You can't do me for that, can you?

-Yeah.

-No seat belt?

-Yes.

0:36:230:36:26

Basically, we're trying to cut down on the amount of road deaths

0:36:260:36:29

happening in Hertfordshire, right? Already this year

0:36:290:36:32

-we're coming up to our yearly total in a six-month period.

-Yeah.

0:36:320:36:35

Obviously, your front passenger ain't got a seatbelt on either.

0:36:350:36:39

'So, to my mind, people who don't wear seat belts are stupid.'

0:36:390:36:42

End of the day, it's there to save your life.

0:36:420:36:44

In one week, I had three seat belts on, believe it or not.

0:36:440:36:47

-So what's that mean to you?

-What?

0:36:470:36:49

Wear your seat belt.

0:36:490:36:50

If it's broken...

0:36:510:36:52

It ain't broken, I just...to be honest with you, I can't wear one.

0:36:520:36:56

-Why's that, then?

-I just can't wear one. Too fat!

0:36:560:36:59

'There are people out there who say that.'

0:36:590:37:01

"Oh, yeah, I had one last week, you know, I should wear it."

0:37:010:37:04

It's two weeks today, isn't it?

0:37:040:37:06

28 days, mate. Four weeks.

0:37:060:37:08

Four weeks. I'll pay it in two weeks.

0:37:080:37:11

The £60 fines are adding up

0:37:110:37:13

for the scrap dealer, who can't have very deep pockets.

0:37:130:37:16

Where are you taking all this, then?

0:37:160:37:18

Just taking it to the scrap yard, mate.

0:37:180:37:20

There's definitely not enough scrap loaded on the back of that lorry

0:37:200:37:24

that's going to pay for two fines of £60.

0:37:240:37:26

There's only...I bet there's not 30 quid on there, mate.

0:37:260:37:29

One, two, three. Pays for a pint, though, don't it?

0:37:290:37:32

I won't keep you a second.

0:37:320:37:34

'They were obviously wide boys,'

0:37:340:37:36

basically, you know, been doing the scrap dealing for a little while.

0:37:360:37:39

'So, you know, they were decent enough chaps.'

0:37:390:37:42

Seat belt, women, beer.

0:37:420:37:45

Just lost £120 because we've stopped them.

0:37:450:37:48

So it's going to be probably a very long day for them

0:37:480:37:50

when they've got to find some more stuff

0:37:500:37:52

to go back and pay for their seat belt tickets.

0:37:520:37:56

'98% of the people out there are very nice to us.

0:37:560:37:59

'It's only the, you know, the odd 2%

0:37:590:38:02

think we've better things to do with our time, the old cliche. You know,

0:38:020:38:05

"Why aren't you out catching burglars, murderers, robbers?"

0:38:050:38:08

Moments after dealing with the scrap men,

0:38:080:38:11

Chris and Neil have all of a sudden got something better to do.

0:38:110:38:15

Catch a speeding van driver.

0:38:150:38:18

CHRIS HUMS

0:38:180:38:21

'A blur, he was literally,

0:38:210:38:24

as we came up to the roundabout, he emerged from our right-hand side

0:38:240:38:27

and has gone round the roundabout like a bat out of hell.

0:38:270:38:30

So myself and Neil decided that we'd have a little chat with this chap.

0:38:300:38:34

His driving leaves a little to be desired, to say the least.

0:38:340:38:37

Oh!

0:38:370:38:38

'Crossing the white chevrons, undertaking people.

0:38:380:38:41

'He overtook another car, then slammed his brakes on

0:38:410:38:44

'and did a left turn, right in front of this car.

0:38:440:38:46

'It wasn't too hard to get behind him.

0:38:490:38:51

'Obviously, there was a car in our way, but as he's gone down the lane,

0:38:510:38:54

'we managed to use our blue lights and two-tones

0:38:540:38:56

'and that pulled over for us and we managed to stop him.'

0:38:560:38:59

Vehicle check, please.

0:38:590:39:01

Sierra 954, Foxtrot Bravo Whisky,

0:39:030:39:06

Sierra 954, Foxtrot Bravo Whisky.

0:39:060:39:08

Didn't seem too happy that he'd been stopped.

0:39:100:39:13

Why you think we want to talk to you?

0:39:130:39:15

I was going too fast round there.

0:39:160:39:18

Too fast? OK.

0:39:180:39:21

At one point you nearly lost it.

0:39:210:39:23

Undertaking, going across white lines

0:39:230:39:26

and then braking heavily and turning in front of people.

0:39:260:39:29

Do you find that an acceptable standard of driving?

0:39:290:39:33

I don't, no.

0:39:330:39:35

No. A lot of people would class that as dangerous driving.

0:39:350:39:38

The most dangerous thing, basically, in my mind,

0:39:380:39:40

was when he's undercut the other motorist

0:39:400:39:43

and pulled straight in front of him and immediately turned to the left.

0:39:430:39:46

Have you got your driving licence on you?

0:39:460:39:48

-I haven't, no.

-You haven't. Have you actually got one?

0:39:480:39:51

Yeah.

0:39:510:39:53

-You got any ID on you?

-No.

0:39:530:39:54

No. So I've got to trust the details you're going to give to me.

0:39:560:40:00

-What's your surname?

-Turner.

0:40:030:40:05

-Turner. And your first name?

-Max.

0:40:050:40:07

He gave me his details, which we checked,

0:40:070:40:11

which all came back in order.

0:40:110:40:12

OK, and whose van is it?

0:40:120:40:14

My work partner's van.

0:40:140:40:16

It's your work partner's van. OK. Why haven't you got any tax in it?

0:40:160:40:20

-Dunno. It ain't been taxed since he had it, I don't think.

-OK.

0:40:220:40:25

The alarm bells are beginning to ring.

0:40:250:40:27

Has it got an MOT?

0:40:270:40:29

-Yeah.

-It has. OK, have you got that on you?

0:40:300:40:33

The digging is getting to Mr Turner.

0:40:350:40:37

Tango one whisky seven...

0:40:370:40:39

He's not Mr Turner after all.

0:40:390:40:42

All right, OK.

0:40:440:40:45

Do you want my licence?

0:40:460:40:48

'He gave Neil a false name.

0:40:480:40:52

'Which at first we didn't realise.'

0:40:520:40:54

It was only as I've gone round into the vehicle, into the near side

0:40:540:40:57

to take out his tax that I've noticed he's got badges,

0:40:570:41:00

ID badges hanging from his gear stick.

0:41:000:41:02

At that point I noticed a nice little picture of him on there

0:41:020:41:06

with his proper name on it.

0:41:060:41:07

So at that point, he's decided, "I'll come clean."

0:41:070:41:10

Ben Weston, is that you?

0:41:100:41:12

It is, yeah. Been revoked for six months.

0:41:120:41:14

-Sorry?

-It's been revoked for six months.

-Your licence?

0:41:140:41:17

Mr Weston's a disqualified driver, and in big trouble.

0:41:170:41:21

I'm going to point out a number of offences to you.

0:41:210:41:24

First one's going to be dangerous driving.

0:41:240:41:26

Because in my view, the driving that I've seen, OK,

0:41:260:41:29

falls well below that of a competent driver. OK?

0:41:290:41:34

Second one is obviously using the vehicle without a valid tax disk.

0:41:340:41:39

The third one depends on what comes back on the driving licence.

0:41:390:41:42

If you're right, you're driving not according to the licence.

0:41:420:41:45

Why are you using the van?

0:41:450:41:47

To be fair, I've just had the biggest row with my missus.

0:41:470:41:50

-I'm going to my mate's house to try and chill out.

-Right.

0:41:500:41:55

But I know that ain't no excuse. At the end of the day, I shouldn't...

0:41:550:41:59

If you'd been driving like everyone else,

0:41:590:42:01

we wouldn't be having this conversation now.

0:42:010:42:04

OK, cos you obviously worked yourself up.

0:42:040:42:07

That's culminated in your driving, OK?

0:42:070:42:09

It could have ended up being a lot worse.

0:42:090:42:11

You have a little bit of sympathy for him cos of the domestic side.

0:42:110:42:14

But from the other side, he's not supposed to be on the road.

0:42:140:42:17

He's driving like an idiot.

0:42:170:42:18

-I know I've done wrong.

-OK.

0:42:180:42:21

The man's van is going to be seized

0:42:220:42:25

under section 165 of the Road Traffic Act.

0:42:250:42:28

Why are these people driving

0:42:280:42:30

when they fully know that they haven't got a licence?

0:42:300:42:32

And the consequences will be slightly harder now for him.

0:42:320:42:35

The cops have got a brand new way of processing disqualified drivers.

0:42:350:42:39

With disqual driving now,

0:42:390:42:41

we don't have to arrest the person and take them into custody.

0:42:410:42:45

OK. Once upon a time, any disqual drivers get arrested,

0:42:450:42:48

they go down to the police station,

0:42:480:42:50

we have to do an interview, all the custody process.

0:42:500:42:52

-Right.

-So if you've ever been in custody,

0:42:520:42:54

that's the process we go through.

0:42:540:42:56

Now, what we do is, we'll do an interview here

0:42:560:42:59

because I've physically got the camera here.

0:42:590:43:01

I think he thought he was going to get arrested,

0:43:010:43:04

and when I told him we were going to deal with it there and then,

0:43:040:43:09

in a way he was quite relieved

0:43:090:43:11

and he was quite happy to talk to me about what had gone on.

0:43:110:43:14

And how do you feel about what's happened?

0:43:140:43:16

I'm gutted, really, you know. I shouldn't have done it.

0:43:180:43:21

-It's my own fault, innit?

-OK.

0:43:210:43:24

Stupid things will have stupid consequences, so.

0:43:240:43:27

Have you got any questions that you want to ask me about any of those?

0:43:270:43:32

-Not really, no.

-No.

0:43:330:43:34

I'd like to apologise, obviously, you know.

0:43:340:43:37

I just need to go through the procedure form for the van,

0:43:370:43:42

which my colleague's going to fill out for you.

0:43:420:43:44

If he'd driven normally,

0:43:470:43:49

we probably wouldn't have stopped him.

0:43:490:43:51

And that stuff you got in the back?

0:43:510:43:54

All my work tools and work equipment.

0:43:540:43:56

The man's an aerial installer, and he's well kitted out for the job.

0:43:560:44:00

How much of that do you need?

0:44:000:44:02

The van was absolutely loaded with stuff.

0:44:020:44:06

He must have spent five or ten minutes

0:44:090:44:12

literally stripping the back of the vehicle out.

0:44:120:44:15

Never actually seen anyone ever take so much stuff out of a vehicle

0:44:160:44:20

to take with them.

0:44:200:44:23

MUSIC: "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter

0:44:230:44:25

I feel gutted, really.

0:44:340:44:36

That's all my work stuff you can see there next to me.

0:44:360:44:39

I've obviously now got to find another vehicle for Monday morning,

0:44:390:44:42

get it insured all legit for my mate to use to get us to work, so...

0:44:420:44:48

pretty gutted, considering the row was over money

0:44:480:44:50

because we've got none at the minute. It's...yeah.

0:44:500:44:53

They're doing their job.

0:44:550:44:57

I was wrong to drive without a licence,

0:44:570:44:59

I was driving erratically,

0:44:590:45:01

so...what comes to me, I expect.

0:45:010:45:05

You know, I did wrong, you've got to expect to pay for them consequences,

0:45:050:45:09

but obviously, my mate is now suffering

0:45:090:45:12

and, you know, I think that's a bit unfair.

0:45:120:45:14

They could have let him come and pick the van up,

0:45:140:45:16

-considering he's legal in it.

-Yes.

0:45:160:45:18

But yeah, I don't really know what's going to happen now.

0:45:200:45:22

Unfortunately, what is happening

0:45:220:45:25

is that his illegal van is being taken away to the pound.

0:45:250:45:29

Whilst the Traffic Cops

0:45:420:45:44

are constantly looking out for bad drivers,

0:45:440:45:46

they're also always on hand to rush to emergencies.

0:45:460:45:49

SIREN WAILS

0:45:490:45:50

In Bedford, a report of an accident has just come in.

0:45:500:45:54

PCs Chris Norton and Tanveer Hussain have taken the call.

0:45:540:45:58

Two-vehicle injury. RTC, Cardiff Road.

0:45:580:46:02

They've asked for a traffic unit to come along.

0:46:040:46:06

Two special constables attended the scene first

0:46:060:46:09

and started to get details. Then it transpired

0:46:090:46:12

the female who was in the vehicle was complaining of neck pain

0:46:120:46:15

and there was talk of having her cut out of the vehicle.

0:46:150:46:19

So when that information came to light, we decided to head down

0:46:190:46:22

and see what was going on.

0:46:220:46:23

It's in a nearby Tesco's car park.

0:46:250:46:28

Not the kind of place you'd expect a serious crash.

0:46:280:46:30

It's here, car park entrance.

0:46:320:46:35

It was on the approach to the petrol station

0:46:350:46:37

and the exit of the car park.

0:46:370:46:39

-Hello, mate.

-How you doing, all right?

0:46:390:46:42

She smashed into that taxi there...

0:46:420:46:44

'It was quite clear as to what had happened.

0:46:440:46:46

'Taxi vehicle was looking to pull onto the forecourt'

0:46:460:46:50

to fill up with some petrol.

0:46:500:46:51

Unfortunately, the lady who was approaching the give way

0:46:510:46:55

had most probably come out and T-boned the taxi driver.

0:46:550:46:58

Your colleagues have the information.

0:46:580:47:00

It's a case of what can happen

0:47:000:47:01

when someone doesn't put on their seat belt.

0:47:010:47:03

She's gone forward, nutted the steering wheel,

0:47:030:47:06

-head pain, neck pain.

-OK.

0:47:060:47:08

Has she then reversed back at some point or do we not know that?

0:47:080:47:11

I haven't been told that she moved.

0:47:110:47:13

I think she hit him, then bounced back.

0:47:130:47:15

-When I got there, handbrake was off.

-I was going to say, yeah, OK.

0:47:150:47:19

-So I applied the handbrake.

-Fair enough.

0:47:190:47:22

-I think it's automatic as well.

-Oh, is it? OK.

0:47:220:47:24

It's quite apparent who was at fault.

0:47:240:47:28

The driver of the taxi didn't have any injuries at all

0:47:280:47:31

because it was just an impact upon his nearside front wing.

0:47:310:47:35

The girl, she wasn't wearing her seat belt.

0:47:370:47:39

She banged her head on the steering wheel and then travelled far back

0:47:390:47:44

and she was complaining of neck pain.

0:47:440:47:46

The injured girl's father has turned up.

0:47:460:47:48

You're her father? OK. Have you given him all her details yet?

0:47:480:47:52

He seems to know the taxi driver.

0:47:520:47:54

I'm trying to make sure they take care of him.

0:47:540:47:56

-It's OK, I know him very well.

-Do you?

0:47:560:47:58

The handbrake's been down.

0:47:580:47:59

She's hit that car and it's a bit of a gradient

0:47:590:48:03

and her car rolled back nice and slow and it's come to a stop.

0:48:030:48:05

-That's what's happened.

-The girl's brother has arrived as well,

0:48:050:48:08

to add his weight to the argument.

0:48:080:48:11

It can be two ways. It can be that she pulled out but he didn't stop.

0:48:110:48:14

-Hey, hey, hey!

-No, listen, mate...

-Don't get cross, don't get cross.

0:48:140:48:17

-Every little helps.

-Don't try and defend your sister.

0:48:170:48:20

Don't try and defend your sister, cos you weren't there.

0:48:200:48:24

But he wasn't there too. The police officer wasn't there.

0:48:240:48:26

I wasn't, you're right. All I'm saying is, from experience...

0:48:260:48:29

-But he's talking from experience.

-You can't just say that.

0:48:290:48:32

I've had experience, I've had an accident before.

0:48:320:48:34

-You can't say from experience.

-Listen, do us a favour.

0:48:340:48:37

It's best if we don't talk to you for five, ten minutes.

0:48:370:48:39

Job done, cos your opinion is different to ours.

0:48:390:48:41

Do you want to have a word with your son?

0:48:410:48:44

He's ear-wigging to what Tan was explaining what was happening

0:48:440:48:48

and then he tried to put his two pennyworth in

0:48:480:48:51

and say what happened, though he wasn't there.

0:48:510:48:53

Chris has spotted something

0:48:530:48:54

that might have contributed to the accident.

0:48:540:48:57

You can understand why she's probably pulled out

0:48:570:49:00

and pulled into the path of the car because the hedge is quite high

0:49:000:49:04

compared to her eyeline, and if she puts her seat back too far,

0:49:040:49:07

she's obviously not going to be in the correct driving position.

0:49:070:49:10

She looks quite slumped down already.

0:49:100:49:12

That's the importance of having your seat upright

0:49:120:49:15

so you maintain maximum height when in the car.

0:49:150:49:18

Fire Service are doing the usual.

0:49:180:49:21

I think it's merely precaution more than anything.

0:49:210:49:24

It's going to be whiplash and dented pride more than anything.

0:49:240:49:28

Worst thing you can do is move somebody who's got a neck ache

0:49:280:49:31

out of a car, and then they've got a broken back,

0:49:310:49:34

because the vertebrae are quite delicate

0:49:340:49:38

and you're going to be in the line of fire if later on down the road,

0:49:380:49:42

they've had a broken back and they're looking for compensation.

0:49:420:49:45

The paramedic attending the scene

0:49:450:49:47

is an expert in these kinds of injuries.

0:49:470:49:50

I come to a lot of accidents and I see this a lot,

0:49:500:49:53

but I don't thoroughly understand why.

0:49:530:49:55

If we miss a possible fracture,

0:49:550:49:58

there's a greater risk that actually, we could kill the patient.

0:49:580:50:02

OK, and how would that happen?

0:50:020:50:04

Because the controls for the heart and lungs, nerve pathways,

0:50:040:50:07

come out through vertebrae numbers three, four and five

0:50:070:50:09

in the back of your neck.

0:50:090:50:11

-All right.

-That will stop you breathing.

0:50:110:50:13

And it'll stop your heart working.

0:50:130:50:15

Can you demonstrate how that would happen?

0:50:150:50:17

No! I'm not going to kill myself!

0:50:170:50:19

So theoretically, she's thrown her head forward,

0:50:190:50:22

thrown her head backwards, so she might have damaged those three bones

0:50:220:50:26

within the back of the neck.

0:50:260:50:27

Yeah, and if they sever the spinal cord at that point, they're dead.

0:50:270:50:31

So how would you sever the...

0:50:310:50:33

-Why do you immobilise the neck?

-You can either have a sheer rotation,

0:50:330:50:36

so they snap over each other or they twist round

0:50:360:50:39

-and they cut the...

-So if I look left or right...

0:50:390:50:41

Yeah, or up and down to an excessive degree,

0:50:410:50:44

you can actually cause the bones to break and separate

0:50:440:50:47

and that would cut like a knife through butter.

0:50:470:50:49

-And that's it, you're dead.

-And once they've gone,

0:50:490:50:52

potentially they're dead. And that's why we worry about the neck.

0:50:520:50:55

Roof comes off cos we then have a greater area to work on

0:50:550:50:58

for putting boards in or getting the casualties out in a smoother manner.

0:50:580:51:04

Changed my appreciation for the injuries that could be involved.

0:51:040:51:08

It's easy to see why such care is taken

0:51:100:51:12

with suspected whiplash sufferers

0:51:120:51:15

when the stakes involved are so high.

0:51:150:51:17

However, despite falling numbers of car crashes,

0:51:170:51:20

insurance claims for whiplash are rising.

0:51:200:51:24

One is made every minute of every hour of every day.

0:51:240:51:26

Most claims are genuine, but a lot aren't.

0:51:270:51:29

Because of the difficulty of proving or disproving whiplash,

0:51:290:51:33

it's fast becoming the fraud of choice

0:51:330:51:36

for an increasing number of people.

0:51:360:51:38

We have a problem with staged accidents in this country

0:51:380:51:41

where people are actually staging an accident.

0:51:410:51:44

These are often organised by highly efficient effective criminal gangs

0:51:440:51:48

who put in a claim for damage to a vehicle

0:51:480:51:51

and included in that will be claims for whiplash.

0:51:510:51:54

And because whiplash is notoriously difficult to prove or disprove,

0:51:540:51:58

it's an area that's rife for exploitation.

0:51:580:52:00

The fraudsters choreograph this kind of accident so cleverly

0:52:010:52:05

that it's virtually impossible to detect any wrong doing.

0:52:050:52:09

Their favourite locations are the approaches to roundabouts

0:52:090:52:13

or as PC Neil Crosier is discovering this afternoon,

0:52:130:52:16

it can be the slip road onto a motorway.

0:52:160:52:18

'A vehicle had gone into the back of another one

0:52:180:52:21

'as they were joining the main carriageway.

0:52:210:52:23

'Peter Jackson spoke to the driver.'

0:52:230:52:26

-Is that the only thing you remember, the car in front was blue?

-Yeah.

0:52:270:52:30

What was it, a saloon, was it a small car, big car?

0:52:300:52:33

-Small car.

-Want me to speak to the other one?

-Yes, please.

0:52:330:52:36

The driver is claiming a vehicle, which has now disappeared,

0:52:360:52:40

stopped in front of him, causing him to slam his brakes on.

0:52:400:52:43

A hapless female driver then ran into the back of him.

0:52:430:52:47

PC Moody spoke to the female driver of the Honda

0:52:470:52:51

and I was talking to the gentleman in the back seat of the Vectra.

0:52:510:52:55

You're going like that.

0:52:550:52:57

No, I no go to hospital. I go home.

0:52:570:52:59

Have you got any neck pain?

0:53:010:53:04

OK, no, there's no pain.

0:53:040:53:06

You're hesitating when I'm asking you. You either have or you haven't.

0:53:060:53:10

The female that had made the call

0:53:100:53:12

and she's a bit concerned about the nature of the accident itself

0:53:120:53:16

cos in her eyes, she viewed it as being a little bit suspicious.

0:53:160:53:20

I was coming up along the slip road onto the motorway

0:53:200:53:23

and there were two cars in front of me

0:53:230:53:26

and the motorway was quite clear

0:53:260:53:28

and the car, the first car just seemed to stop all of a sudden

0:53:280:53:33

and the car behind it stopped.

0:53:330:53:35

I saw his brake lights come on straightaway,

0:53:350:53:38

but he didn't go into the car

0:53:380:53:40

and obviously I was accelerating to pull onto the motorway,

0:53:400:53:43

cos it was clear, and I put my brakes on as soon as I saw his

0:53:430:53:46

and I couldn't do anything, I just smashed into the back of him.

0:53:460:53:49

The accident bears the hallmarks of a classic case of bash cash.

0:53:490:53:54

And as she's moved over to the hard shoulder,

0:53:540:53:56

the Corsa at the very front has driven off and hasn't stopped

0:53:560:54:01

and in her opinion, it would have been

0:54:010:54:04

of the understanding that an accident had occurred.

0:54:040:54:07

I'm moving forward, and up there at the front,

0:54:070:54:10

we don't know what really happened.

0:54:100:54:12

HE CONTINUES INAUDIBLY

0:54:120:54:16

I brake as well, and that's when we heard some collision at the back.

0:54:160:54:19

The car's, you know, just vanished into thin air.

0:54:190:54:21

And then the guys in the middle car got out

0:54:210:54:25

and one of them came towards me.

0:54:250:54:27

He didn't threaten me, but he was quite aggressive.

0:54:270:54:29

I was obviously very shocked and he swore at me

0:54:290:54:31

and asked me what I was doing.

0:54:310:54:34

Um, and then he came out clutching his head

0:54:340:54:36

and the other guy came out clutching his back.

0:54:360:54:39

You've got back pain, you've been advised to see your doctor.

0:54:390:54:42

At least then, it covers you and details what you say, sir.

0:54:420:54:45

The driver came up and said, "I've phoned the police already,

0:54:450:54:48

"but I've told the ambulance not to come cos nobody's been hurt

0:54:480:54:51

"and I told the police not to come because we're all OK, aren't we?"

0:54:510:54:55

And he said, "Who are you on the phone to?"

0:54:550:54:57

And I said, "Oh, nobody, I'm just having a look at it.

0:54:570:54:59

But the operator kept the line live as I was a bit concerned.

0:54:590:55:03

Front seat passenger says they've been coming up the slip road,

0:55:030:55:06

a small blue vehicle

0:55:060:55:07

has just randomly jammed the yanks on in front of them.

0:55:070:55:10

He said he doesn't know where it's come from,

0:55:100:55:12

just suddenly appeared, his mate slammed the brakes on as well

0:55:120:55:15

and they've had a shunt from behind. So...

0:55:150:55:19

Is that both passengers have said that?

0:55:190:55:21

No, just the one from the front seat,

0:55:210:55:23

which is the one that's claiming he's got neck pain,

0:55:230:55:26

-headache and lower back.

-The bloke in the back, apparently,

0:55:260:55:28

has said also a blue car. The driver said a red car.

0:55:280:55:32

So what I'm going to do is...

0:55:320:55:34

I don't know.

0:55:340:55:36

It'll get reported to the Insurance Fraud unit.

0:55:370:55:40

Might get their reds and purples and pinks, sort of thing, mixed up

0:55:400:55:44

but you know, red and blue, you know, it's one or the other.

0:55:440:55:48

-Hello, mate!

-As far as insurance companies are concerned,

0:55:480:55:51

the car behind in an accident

0:55:510:55:53

is nearly always deemed to be the one at fault.

0:55:530:55:56

We've got the driver who's complaining of minor injuries,

0:55:560:55:59

we've got front seat passenger saying he's got a stiff neck,

0:55:590:56:02

lower back pain, sudden jolt from behind and...

0:56:020:56:05

-basically, that's about it.

-So from the Vectra, yeah?

0:56:050:56:08

Yeah, Vectra's vehicle number two, so that was at the front

0:56:080:56:11

and the offender vehicle's gone up the back.

0:56:110:56:14

No-one in the back one complaining of anything, just the front car?

0:56:140:56:17

Not as far as I'm aware.

0:56:170:56:18

I think when we arrived and we could see how clear the motorway was,

0:56:180:56:23

looking at the skid marks and taking the accounts from the people,

0:56:230:56:28

I think it was fair to say...

0:56:280:56:32

..that there was some kind of foul play there.

0:56:330:56:36

That somebody potentially had stopped

0:56:360:56:40

in order for her to, to collide into the rear of them.

0:56:400:56:43

If it's a set-up, then it's awful

0:56:430:56:47

and it's just lucky that I wasn't injured

0:56:470:56:49

and they weren't injured, they were part of it.

0:56:490:56:51

What if they'd been injured as well?

0:56:510:56:53

Unfortunately it's one of those incidents that's...

0:56:530:56:56

we call a crash-for-cash incident,

0:56:560:56:59

where the vehicle has stopped, and the occupants of that vehicle

0:56:590:57:03

will then claim compensation for injuries they may have sustained.

0:57:030:57:06

Yeah, if it's a set-up, I feel sick about it, actually.

0:57:060:57:11

The red - or blue - vehicle that initiated the collision

0:57:110:57:14

has never been traced, and the injured occupants of the middle car

0:57:140:57:18

were not charged with fraud.

0:57:180:57:19

However, the woman's insurance company

0:57:190:57:21

has not yet paid out any compensation to them.

0:57:210:57:24

The two crashes on the M1 and the accident in Tesco's car park

0:57:260:57:29

were all settled by insurance claims.

0:57:290:57:31

The man who drove through a crash scene

0:57:340:57:36

as he was desperately trying to get away from the chasing cops

0:57:360:57:39

was sent to prison for eight months

0:57:390:57:42

for dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified.

0:57:420:57:45

Razon Meer, the disqualified driver who lied through his back teeth,

0:57:460:57:50

was also locked up for eight weeks

0:57:500:57:52

for breaching a suspended sentence order

0:57:520:57:55

and driving whilst disqualified.

0:57:550:57:57

But his blood test came back under the limit.

0:57:570:58:01

Ben Weston, the aerial fitter

0:58:010:58:03

who was also caught driving whilst disqualified and driving carelessly

0:58:030:58:07

had his ban extended for another 12 months and was fined £300.

0:58:070:58:11

The man with the replica firearm in his boot,

0:58:140:58:16

who was arrested at gunpoint in London,

0:58:160:58:18

was released without being charged.

0:58:180:58:20

And Keith the swan was also released,

0:58:220:58:25

back into the wild to enjoy a long and happy life.

0:58:250:58:29

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