0:00:02 > 0:00:05- 'There's another battle in Hastings.' - I saw them shoot up there.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08- 'A battle against crime.' - "Castle Hill Road."
0:00:08 > 0:00:12'And it's the traffic cops who are at the leading edge.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15'Cracking down on people who are breaking the law...'
0:00:15 > 0:00:20You just broke the law, law man! One point to me.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24- '..and people who are crossing the line.' - Stop it! You are hurting me!
0:00:24 > 0:00:29I've got a little bit of pain to my head. I'm not going to fight none of you.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35A lot of people will have a lot of bravado and they'll play up and act the big man, as it were.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38But a lot of people know where to draw the line.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40SIRENS WAIL
0:01:01 > 0:01:04'Creeping up on crooks and surprising motorists who are breaking the law
0:01:04 > 0:01:07'has never been easier in Sussex.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11'Especially when people don't expect the traffic cops to be patrolling
0:01:11 > 0:01:14'in a brand new, unmarked Golf R32.'
0:01:18 > 0:01:24'People's driving tends to improve significantly when they see a marked police car.'
0:01:24 > 0:01:28It puts us in the same place in an unmarked car
0:01:28 > 0:01:30to see what people's real driving is like.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33And obviously to educate and prosecute people.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36'When it comes to road safety,
0:01:36 > 0:01:41'PC Quick, and his partner, PC Steve Desouki-Harmon, are hardliners.'
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Is that a learner without a seat belt on?
0:01:44 > 0:01:46'Some education is required.'
0:01:46 > 0:01:52'It's been law for about 30 years now. And it still surprises me the amount of people
0:01:52 > 0:01:56'that see it as their right to choose whether or not they wear a seat belt.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00They don't think of what would happen if they were to have an accident,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02even if it's only at 30 miles-an-hour.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06'Some people still haven't got the message.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11'Buckling up saves lives. Over 2,000 a year, it's estimated.
0:02:13 > 0:02:19'And there's another reason to point the finger. The computer says he's not insured, either.'
0:02:20 > 0:02:24JAMES BOND-STYLE MUSIC
0:02:35 > 0:02:39- Hello.- Hi.- Hiya. Do you want to pop out for me, driver?
0:02:39 > 0:02:45'Some people can be exempt from having to wear a seat belt for medical reasons,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'as long as they have a certificate to prove it.'
0:02:48 > 0:02:51- Up on the pavement for me.- Sorry? - Up on the pavement for me.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56- Any reason you're not wearing a seat belt? - I just come from the shop.- Sorry?
0:02:56 > 0:02:58'But that's not this man's excuse.'
0:02:58 > 0:03:01- Why weren't you wearing it?- I was in the process of putting it on.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04It should be on on public roads.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09The argument was that he'd come from the retail park, nearly a mile away, and he was putting it on.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13It doesn't take a mile to put your seat belt on. He should've put it on when he started the car.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Sorry, can you just tell me why you stop him?
0:03:16 > 0:03:21- Because he's not wearing a seat belt. - That's all?- And there's no insurance on the vehicle.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24- Rubbish!- It is insurance. I can show you my insurance.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27You follow me in my house and I'll show you the insurance.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31'The man is adamant he's got insurance for his car.'
0:03:31 > 0:03:33- That car is more legal than yours is, yeah?- OK.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37'He immediately was quite anti towards us, and "Why had we stopped him?"'
0:03:37 > 0:03:41When the insurance issue came up, that really then put the icing on the cake.
0:03:41 > 0:03:49'Proving he's insured isn't being helped by the fact that the man can't even prove who he is.'
0:03:49 > 0:03:55- Right, so you've got no ID on you at all?- 'The man in yellow is beginning to see red.'
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Look, if you get in your car and stop wasting my time, cos I'm a busy man,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03I'll drive down the road and I'll give you the insurance. It's two minutes.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06You can waste your fuel coming down the road.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11- So you don't have any ID?- What am I going to carry it for when it's going to get robbed out of the car?
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Does that not make common sense? I wish you police would get that.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19Now, when I lose them, you pull me over for not carrying them, yeah? So, what do you want?
0:04:19 > 0:04:23- So you don't have anything on you? - My house is just down the road.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26You got five minutes, I got five minutes. I want to prove you wrong.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31It's false. That car... The MOT place is just down there, yeah?
0:04:31 > 0:04:35- You still haven't answered my question. - I have answered your question!
0:04:35 > 0:04:41- Who are you insured with, again? - RAC.- The gentleman says he is insured with the RAC.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45He kept telling us he was with the RAC and he was fully insured, et cetera, et cetera,
0:04:45 > 0:04:50but if I believed that every time, I'd never do any work.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55- We're phoning the RAC. Where you going?- I'm sorting out my car, do you mind? Get out my way!
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- Take the keys.- OK.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02I'm not going to run away. You've got the keys.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04- You need to calm down. - Well, get out of my face then!
0:05:04 > 0:05:10- Get out of my face, yeah?- You don't tell me what to do. We're checking it out to see if you're insured.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13- I pay your taxes, mate. - Do you? I pay my own taxes. - And your wages, yeah?
0:05:13 > 0:05:19'And now he's going to pay the price, £60 for not wearing his seat belt,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23'and until it's established he's got insurance, he's not going anywhere.'
0:05:23 > 0:05:29He obviously thinks he is Mr law-abiding, and how dare we stop him.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32- Right, happy now? - That's yours. Thank you very much. - Pat on the back for that.
0:05:32 > 0:05:37- Get a new stripe on your hat for that.- Right, we need to wait for your insurance to come back.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41- And if that insurance is right, I'm going to have you. Big time. - All right. Fair enough.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- Is that all?- You can sit in your car and wait.- No, no, no.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51Ah, you just broke the law. I'm not sitting inside a car that you're saying is not insured
0:05:51 > 0:05:57cos I'm on a public highway. You just broke the law, law man! One point to me.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02A lot of people will have a lot of bravado, especially when there are other people around.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04They'll play up and act the big man.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09- Get on your fancy phone and do your job.- Hello.- 'At last, there's an answer from the RAC.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16- 'The big man is relishing getting one over on the traffic cops.' - Come on then, let's have it.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21'But he's not going to like the news.'
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Sorry, which bit is wrong? Which bit is wrong again?
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Oh! A typing error by the insurance company, well, bugger me!
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Oh, I'll tell him, OK. OK. Thanks for that. Bye.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39- Come on then. Let's go.- Are you going to shut up long enough for me to explain what the problem is?
0:06:39 > 0:06:43There's a typing error by the insurance company on the registration.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46- Did you do it on the Internet?- Me? Yeah.- It will be your error, then.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50- Rubbish. I got a document at home saying what's on it. - It was on phone.
0:06:50 > 0:06:58- GN06 GXH so don't tell me ... - But your vehicle is YN06?- Yeah? - So that vehicle is not insured.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03- Just give me the keys. It's insured. - You've got to phone the RAC and get a new certificate.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- OK. Come on, then. - So, let's just go over this. Because of your mistake,
0:07:07 > 0:07:13your putting the number plate wrong on the RAC, that's what's led us to all of this today, sir.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18- No, it's not that!- You've got no-one else to blame but yourself. Have a good day, put your seat belt on.
0:07:18 > 0:07:24- You really don't have anything to do better than this? - Nice to meet you. Have a nice day.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29All the way through it he thought he was in the right. Even though it was obvious that he wasn't.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Any little victory he could get against us, he was trying it.
0:07:32 > 0:07:39- Happy chappy!- That's it. He's obviously brave cos he's put his seat belt on.- Yeah.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42THEY LAUGH
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- He's still going. - What's all that about?
0:07:51 > 0:07:55'Teamwork is a crucial part of a traffic cop's job.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58'And nowhere is that more important than on long night shifts.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03'Luckily, PCs Phil Mann and Mark Bassett get on pretty well together.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:08A lot of people say we're like two nagging women when we get together.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10But we work well off each other.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13For our ideas, good cop, bad cop kind of thing.
0:08:13 > 0:08:20'They've got automatic number plate reading cameras fitted to their car with added night-vision capability.
0:08:20 > 0:08:26'Driving in the dark, doesn't mean driving incognito.'
0:08:26 > 0:08:29COMPUTER BEEPS
0:08:29 > 0:08:32'The ANPR computer says there's a problem.'
0:08:32 > 0:08:34It's a Ford Fiesta with no insurance.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38'Myself and Mark spotted this car that went past us quite quick.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41'Automatically activated the ANPR camera.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46'Mark very quickly PNC'd it as we turned round. It came up as no insurance.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50So we went to follow it. That's when it parked up very quickly.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Can we just have a chat? Hello there, how you doing?
0:08:55 > 0:08:59- You all right? Is that your car? - All right, Stella.
0:08:59 > 0:09:05Do you want to stick your head just in that car? My colleague will explain what's on there.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08This is an MDT computer. It has a database to the insurance.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- When your car went past, it showed it's got no insurance, for some reason.- Right, OK.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15- Has it got any insurance? - Not at the moment, no.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19- That's why you got out and quickly legged it, yeah?- Yeah.- OK, then.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25- Has it got tax? - It has at the moment, yeah.- It has. Have you got your licence on you?
0:09:25 > 0:09:29- Not at the moment. - Have you got any ID on you? - I wasn't actually driving it, so...
0:09:29 > 0:09:34- Who was driving it?- My mate. - Where's she gone, or he gone? - He's in there.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39- Stella?- Yeah?- Do you want to tell us the truth otherwise we'll just rewind the ANPR camera?
0:09:39 > 0:09:44'PC Mann's calling Stella's bluff with a bluff of his own.'
0:09:44 > 0:09:48- So it wasn't you driving, is that what you're telling me?- It was me driving.- It was you driving?
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Did you say it was you driving? OK.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Right, how many points have you got on your licence at the moment?
0:09:55 > 0:09:58- I don't know.- Well, we're going to bring it up in a minute, so...
0:09:58 > 0:10:03- "RADIO: If there is any, I'll get back to you."- Do you hold a licence?
0:10:03 > 0:10:07- Yeah, I do.- Is it a provisional? - No, it's not a provisional.
0:10:07 > 0:10:13- Are you disqualified from driving? - Erm, yeah.- Yes, you are?
0:10:13 > 0:10:15We'll find out in two seconds, Stella.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20'Stella's come clean about being banned. She knows she can't beat the machine.'
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Expired substantive. Disqualified until 7/4/2012.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31OK. Because of that, I'm arresting you on suspicion of driving whilst disqualified.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35HE READS STELLA HER RIGHTS
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Hang up the phone for the time being. We'll let you make a phone call in a minute.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Turn that off for the time being. Listen, turn it off!
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- No, don't man-handle me! - You're under arrest, OK?
0:10:47 > 0:10:50'She tried to make a phone call to her boyfriend in the pub next door,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53'which I wasn't too happy about her doing because,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57for all I know, if she gets through to him and tells him what's gone on,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00we'll have half the pub come out and try and get involved.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04- HANDCUFFS LOCK - Not too tight?- No.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- 'All prisoners get cuffed in Sussex, even women prisoners.' - Just bring you round here.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12'When we arrest people, we apply handcuffs. We personally put them to the back.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16'That way they can't put them over the headrest of the car seat and strangle you.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20'Other police officers have been assaulted that way. That's what we do.'
0:11:20 > 0:11:23We put them behind her back and put her in the police car.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31- Hello there, chap.- I've lost my girlfriend.- At the moment, she's under arrest.- Is she?- Yes, she is.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34We're taking her to the station. She can call you from there.
0:11:34 > 0:11:40- Can you phone my mum?- I'll ring her mum, make sure her daughter's all right.- Yeah, that's fine.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44I've got my mum's phone in my bag so you'll have to get to her somehow.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48He obviously saw the blue lights outside, he saw what was going on,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51and he came to assist his girlfriend.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56- Can I give her a kiss? - You're not allowed to give her a kiss at this time.- Aw!
0:11:56 > 0:11:59'Not getting a kiss goodnight is the least of Stella's problems.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03'Her real trouble is she's having to kiss goodbye to her car.'
0:12:03 > 0:12:07- Why's it being seized?- Because we... - It's fine there.- Listen, we have...
0:12:07 > 0:12:13- It's fine there! Last time it wasn't moved! Give him the keys and let him take it.- Stella! Calm down!
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Give him the keys and let him take it! It's my car! You're not impounding it, you don't need to!
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Give him the keys and let him take it!
0:12:20 > 0:12:24- It's your fault that I'm here, Simon, isn't it?- Stella, chill.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26It's not his fault at all.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30She's the one in charge of the car. She's got a brain.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33'She should have used it a lot more.'
0:12:35 > 0:12:38'Not using her head and getting caught driving when she's banned
0:12:38 > 0:12:43'means Stella's facing the prospect of a long night in a police cell.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46'But she's had enough of being locked up already.'
0:12:46 > 0:12:48SEAT BELT CLICKS
0:12:48 > 0:12:53- Why are you taking that off? No, you're not. - Why not? It's hurting me!
0:12:53 > 0:12:59- Well, then I can loosen it.- I might be pregnant, can you stop handling me!- Stella, listen!- Get off me! Now!
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Get off me! Get off me!
0:13:03 > 0:13:07- You're hurting me!- Stella, you're going to hurt yourself!
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- Get off me! Get off me!- You just keep struggling. You're the one...
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Can you just let me put my... You're hurting me! Get off me!
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- Stand up! Stand up!- Oh, for God's sake, why are you being like this?
0:13:17 > 0:13:21- Stop it, you're hurting me! - SHE SOBS Right, out you get!
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Oi, oi, oi oi!
0:13:26 > 0:13:29'Pint-sized Stella is proving to be a handful for the cops.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32'But they could do without her boyfriend's help.'
0:13:32 > 0:13:35- That's a bit out of order.- You saw her struggling...- I know but...
0:13:35 > 0:13:40- Don't rile her up any more, all right?- Yeah, I'm not going to.- Good.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44- Do you understand?- Yes, I do understand.- Right, do you want to sit in the car or the van?
0:13:44 > 0:13:47- I want to sit in the car, please. - Right, keep them behind your back.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- You're so unreasonable. - We are not unreasonable.- You are.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57- I was hurting and all I wanted to do was...- Right! Stay there like that!
0:13:57 > 0:14:01- I can't see how that can be uncomfortable.- Oh, really? Have you tried it?- Yes, I have.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06- Have you tried a lump of metal in your back with a seat belt on? - Right, we're going to try this again.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11We hurt her pride, I think. She didn't like being arrested.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17She was visibly upset at it. She was embarrassed.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20'But the force we were using on her wasn't excessive.'
0:14:20 > 0:14:26- You proper scared me!- Listen, Stella.- You're horrible.- I've been nice to you...- No, you haven't.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31..in all my dealings so far. The reason I didn't want you travelling like that is cos it's unsafe.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35The way you are is fine. You're not in any pain, I checked that the cuffs were OK.
0:14:35 > 0:14:41'Now she's properly locked up and calmed down, it's last orders for Stella.'
0:14:44 > 0:14:49'As well as having cameras which read number plates built into cop cars,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53'the police in Sussex also rely on ones that are sited permanently at the roadside,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56'in secret locations.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01'Whenever a suspicious car goes past one, the alarm is sounded.'
0:15:04 > 0:15:08One of the ANPR cameras, one of the fixed cameras in Hastings,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11has just picked up a Ford Focus that's gone through.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16That car shows as being stolen from a burglary earlier on today in Hastings,
0:15:16 > 0:15:21so we're just going to head out that way, there's other traffic units going there, as well,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23to see if we can find the vehicle.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26'This car was still in the area where the burglary happened,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29'which doesn't really often happen.'
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Normally if people steal a car, they'll be gone
0:15:32 > 0:15:35or it'll be found burnt out, but this one was still driving round,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40so we had a good opportunity here to not only find the stolen car, but if we could find that,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45we could hopefully arrest the people that were in it who may well have been our burglars.
0:15:45 > 0:15:52'Now they're in Hastings, it's a question of hoping one of the units can spot the Ford Focus.'
0:15:57 > 0:16:00'And the cops are in luck.'
0:16:00 > 0:16:05'We came along the seafront listening to the radio, listening to the updates of where this car was,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09'and it was heading right towards us.'
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Fountain. That way.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17- It's passed the fountain, I think, which is down there, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21'A couple of hundred metres from where the stolen car now was,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24'it turned right up another road
0:16:24 > 0:16:27'and we saw it, we saw our colleague go after it.'
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- I just saw them shoot up there. - Was that them?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Round here?
0:16:40 > 0:16:42The lights down there.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50"Yeah, I've lost sight of it in these roads. It looked like it was two up."
0:16:50 > 0:16:56'It's not looking good. The chances of recovering the stolen car with its two occupants are fading fast.'
0:16:56 > 0:17:00- I just saw him suddenly do a right there.- Yeah, he did.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05'But all hope of catching them isn't yet lost.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07'There's one more place to look.'
0:17:09 > 0:17:12When we came up that road, is this the one we came up?
0:17:12 > 0:17:17Before we took that left, there was a road before that, there were lights down there.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21I don't know whether it's worth looking down there, just in case he has decamped from it.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24- Just abandoned it. - The little tiny road?- Yeah.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27It was the one before that left that we took. Might be worth it.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33There were lights just down here where we went along.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36- Could be nothing. - We could be the quickest one to...
0:17:36 > 0:17:38There it is.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40I'm with the vehicle. With the vehicle.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44- Where are we?- Castle Hill Passage.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Castle Hill Passage. Vehicle's abandoned. No-one with it.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55'It's a double-edged sword, really.'
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Very, very pleased that that was the car,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01but equally quite gutted that there was no-one in it.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Yeah, it's...
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'It hadn't been there long. It can't have been there long.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10'Perhaps a minute since I'd seen the brake lights, or the lights.'
0:18:10 > 0:18:14I'm going to have a run down there, see if anyone's around.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21'There was a small, wooden gate on the left-hand side and some shrubs. I checked in there.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30'It was all quite dark and dingy in there, but a good hiding place.'
0:18:32 > 0:18:34That's clear.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44'There's nothing to say they would've gone any distance. We just didn't know at that point.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46'So we ran further down the road.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51Sadly, by the time we got to the bottom, it's quite a busy area,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54and they could've gone anywhere from there.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02There's so many people around, it's...
0:19:04 > 0:19:09'The cops have run up a blind alley. Their last chance is to call in the dogs.'
0:19:10 > 0:19:15I didn't want to move in case they came out and drove off in it.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18'While PCs Hobbs and Hall wait for a sniffer dog to come...
0:19:19 > 0:19:25'..news is coming in of an accident that's just happened 40 miles along the coast in Brighton.'
0:19:31 > 0:19:34'PC Dan Pattenden is on his way to the scene.'
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Yeah, I've got it on my terminal now.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43'The call came in that there was a single vehicle crash
0:19:43 > 0:19:47'which had occurred at the Lewes Road junction in Brighton.'
0:19:47 > 0:19:51'The traffic cops only get called to the more serious road accidents.'
0:19:53 > 0:19:55'As we've arrived,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58'the fire brigade were already on scene.'
0:19:59 > 0:20:03'The fire crews have rescued three people from the wrecked vehicle.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07'One of them, a woman in the front passenger seat, is seriously injured
0:20:07 > 0:20:10'but another, the driver, has disappeared.'
0:20:12 > 0:20:15It was one of the fire brigade that had said that
0:20:15 > 0:20:19they'd initially been speaking to the driver who they described
0:20:19 > 0:20:22and said that they'd then seen him walking off up the road.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29'There's usually only one reason a driver would do a runner from an accident.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31'They'd been drinking.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38'Unluckily for him, he's been caught on CCTV.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42'And the cops have got him.'
0:20:43 > 0:20:47I've got some money in that pocket, I've got a phone in that pocket.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50- Keep your feet down. - I've got some money and a phone.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54'Sure enough, he's either been knocked senseless or he is indeed legless.'
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- Tell me your first name.- Right, it's Adam. My first name's Adam.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00I've a few notes in there. I've got some change.
0:21:00 > 0:21:06- Keep your legs down, mate. We'll have a look, all right?- I've got some change, a couple of notes.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10- Help yourself. - I'm not going to help myself, I'm just trying to make sure...
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Help yourself, it's only change. A bit of money.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16It's a bit of money. Help yourself. Take it. We'll go to the pub and have a pint.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21'He was almost knocking me out with the fumes that were coming from his breath.'
0:21:21 > 0:21:26So I arrested him straight away for driving whilst being unfit. I didn't need to breathalyse him.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31'In the control room, they're taking a closer look at the man's crash
0:21:31 > 0:21:34'and something very disturbing is coming to light.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40'It looks like it's deliberate.'
0:21:42 > 0:21:48'When we asked him about the accident, he did indicate that he didn't care if he died or whatever.'
0:21:48 > 0:21:51'And it's all because he's had a bust-up with is girlfriend
0:21:51 > 0:21:54'and has been consumed with jealousy.'
0:21:54 > 0:21:58From looking with the CCTV, obviously he hasn't turned in sharp enough
0:21:58 > 0:22:04and it looks like he literally tried to drive through the railings, if you like, on her side.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12'The man's girlfriend is on her way to hospital with serious injuries to her foot.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16'But she's been able to make allegations that back up the cops' suspicion about the crash.'
0:22:18 > 0:22:23'She indicated that he was making threats and had threatened to kill her.'
0:22:26 > 0:22:29'There's been another development.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34'Witnesses have said they saw the man try to crash his car before it smashed into the railings.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42'He's crossed the line. It appears he has tried to kill his girlfriend.'
0:22:42 > 0:22:45So obviously it was a deliberate attempt at trying to hurt someone,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49then you're looking down the lines of assault or, on this occasion,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53it was being looked at as an attempted murder initially until we knew otherwise.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58- You all right with this shut now? - Yeah, yeah.- I haven't drunk nothing!
0:22:58 > 0:23:02'Adam Hall is going to be arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06'A full-scale investigation has swung into action.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11'Sergeant Melanie Doyle is preserving any evidence there might be
0:23:11 > 0:23:13'at the site of the initial incident.'
0:23:15 > 0:23:19My traffic officers had taken the driver into custody
0:23:19 > 0:23:23so I went back down to take control and command of the scene itself
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and assess what needed to be done.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34'Witnesses have described the vehicle doing handbrake turns,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38so you could practically map out its path by the marks it had left on the road.'
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I'm just trying to mark it before it disappears
0:23:44 > 0:23:46so that I can see a little bit.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49I've called in CRU and they'll do a lot more work here,
0:23:49 > 0:23:54but at the moment, I'm just marking, for my own view, what I've got.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59It was fairly clear from what we could see of the marks
0:23:59 > 0:24:02that the vehicle had been driven northwards up the Lewes Road,
0:24:02 > 0:24:08for whatever reason, the driver decided to steer the car,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11for want of a better word, straight into a parked car.
0:24:11 > 0:24:17Whether it be to scare the passenger or to actually cause her injury, I don't know.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19But then he immediately carried on driving,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23drove off again, did a U-turn right across the road,
0:24:23 > 0:24:29accelerated hard and at the last second turned hard right into Elm Grove,
0:24:29 > 0:24:35not making the turn at all and careering straight into the railings where it all came to a stop.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40'With the charges so serious and the evidence stacking up,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44'it's necessary for CID to take up the case.'
0:24:44 > 0:24:49So the indications we're getting are that it was a deliberate attempt to drive into there
0:24:49 > 0:24:51and a deliberate attempt to crash up there.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54And it's her side here.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Erm, it's dead centre up there. It was the dead centre of the car that hit the post.
0:24:58 > 0:25:04- Both bags have gone and they've both hit the windscreen head-on. - OK.- Head-in.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08He could've killed somebody. Whether it be his passengers or a pedestrian
0:25:08 > 0:25:12or anybody, he could've quite seriously injured or killed somebody
0:25:12 > 0:25:14and his driving was absolutely appalling.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20'Back in Hastings, there's still no sign of the dog.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24'But there is word about the thieves who stole the Ford Focus coming in.'
0:25:24 > 0:25:30"We've just stopped them now, two miles up at a recreational area on Priory Road."
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Virtually at the same time that we must have found the car,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38Dave and Nathan, who were another crew from traffic
0:25:38 > 0:25:42that were working in Hastings, had stopped two people.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50- They've nicked- BLEEP- just up there. - Have they? Yeah.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52I'd worked my whole career in Hastings
0:25:52 > 0:25:57and he was a problem for us throughout all of it, really.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59What's his latest, Lizzie?
0:25:59 > 0:26:05He was a prolific car thief. He was the youngest car thief in the county
0:26:05 > 0:26:09- or in the country. - He was at one point.- He couldn't see over the steering wheel.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11So he likes to nick cars.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14He was so small when he started doing it,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18I think he had to sit on cushions and stuff
0:26:18 > 0:26:20in order to be able to nick these cars that he was taking.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24'To nick any of the suspects caught nearby,
0:26:24 > 0:26:28'the cops are going to need good evidence to link them to the car.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31'Without it, the writing will be on the wall.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34'Even though they've caught some suspects,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36'the dog's still got some work to do.'
0:26:36 > 0:26:42'When the dog came, they did what I believe is called a confirmation track
0:26:42 > 0:26:49'and they've tracked from the car, lo and behold, to where these two lads have been stopped by Dave and Nathan,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53'which obviously confirms that that's the route that they've taken from the car.'
0:26:53 > 0:26:57'The confirmation track isn't enough to solve the crime
0:26:57 > 0:27:02'but it does strengthen the case against the young car thief they've caught and his mate.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08'Like so often these days, the case will hang on forensics
0:27:08 > 0:27:13'and in particular, any DNA which might link the suspects to the stolen car.'
0:27:13 > 0:27:17'There was a lot McDonald's rubbish found in the vehicle.
0:27:17 > 0:27:24'They've been examined and there had been a DNA hit on a straw from a drinks cup.'
0:27:24 > 0:27:29'And even better, the thieves' drive-through happy meal was captured on camera.'
0:27:30 > 0:27:35'The CCTV presented a nice image of the three lads
0:27:35 > 0:27:38'going through a McDonald's drive-in in this stolen car,
0:27:38 > 0:27:42'which was quite damning, really, I think.'
0:27:42 > 0:27:46You don't get things like that happen very often. We're not usually so lucky.
0:27:47 > 0:27:53'But unluckily, it couldn't be proved that the well-known car thief was in the stolen Ford Focus.
0:27:53 > 0:27:59'However, its driver, caught by the McDonald's camera, was recognised.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02'He has plenty of time to digest his fast food.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06'17 weeks in a young offender institute.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10'Adam Hall was not charged with attempted murder,
0:28:10 > 0:28:14'but he was found guilty of dangerous driving and drinking and driving
0:28:14 > 0:28:17'and given a suspended nine-month prison sentence,
0:28:17 > 0:28:23'a three-year driving ban and required to do 200 hours community work.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28'And Stella, who thought it was all her boyfriend's fault that she was driving illegally,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32'was found guilty of not having insurance and driving whilst disqualified.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35'She was given a 12-month community order
0:28:35 > 0:28:37'and six points on her licence.'
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0:28:47 > 0:28:47.