0:00:02 > 0:00:05Britain's bobbies see some bizarre things in the line of duty.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08I think they'll think twice about stealing an owl in future.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13And for this series, with the help of victims, cops and crooks,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16we've unearthed the UK's most audacious...
0:00:16 > 0:00:17- Go faster. - ..deviant...
0:00:17 > 0:00:20The guy's completely naked in the chimney.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23..and downright daft acts of criminality.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Stealing from a CCTV shop - it's not ironic, it's moronic.
0:00:27 > 0:00:33These odd offences all prove one thing - crime doesn't pay.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37And the police won't rest until they get their man.
0:00:37 > 0:00:38We had him banged to rights.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40So observe your right to remain silent
0:00:40 > 0:00:43as we sentence you to 30 minutes of guilty pleasure
0:00:43 > 0:00:47in the weird world of Bizarre Crime.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50# Crime don't pay Crime don't pay
0:00:50 > 0:00:54- # X and Y were the best of friends - Of friends
0:00:54 > 0:00:58# They stuck together round the awkward bends
0:00:58 > 0:01:02- # Since the killing Y tries to find - To find
0:01:02 > 0:01:05# A way to pay the guilty back in time
0:01:05 > 0:01:08# Crime don't pay Crime don't pay. #
0:01:13 > 0:01:19Coming up - police unmask the master of dodgy disguises behind a devious driving-test scam.
0:01:19 > 0:01:25He would be paid about £3,000 a time to take, in some cases,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28both the theory and the practical test.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33And one couple are tormented by a neighbour's breathtakingly bizarre campaign of harassment.
0:01:33 > 0:01:39He used to stand behind the hedge, when it was absolutely teeming it down with rain, whistling.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41WHISTLING
0:01:46 > 0:01:51But our first explosive case involves a round trip across the Pennines,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55carried out by a doting dad who'd hatched a barmy plot
0:01:55 > 0:01:58to outwit a speed camera.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01You'd think it'd been hit by a rocket launcher. It was a real mess.
0:02:10 > 0:02:16Doncaster-based railway welder Craig Moore's criminal caper began one day in August 2006
0:02:16 > 0:02:21when he was flashed by a speed camera on his way to work.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Went to work, did my shift, it were playing on my mind.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Craig wasn't just worried about getting a fine.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30With ten penalty points already on his licence,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34getting more would mean a driving ban, which spelt big trouble.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38If I lost my licence, I lost my job. It would have a knock-on effect.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42The main thing that worried me - I had a mortgage, same as anyone else.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44No job meant no income,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48and no income meant not being able to support his family.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53I've got two kids, a missus. How do I support 'em, what do I do?
0:02:53 > 0:02:57That one little flash was turning into a bit of a nightmare.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06So that evening Craig wracked his brains
0:03:06 > 0:03:10for a way to get out of his speeding camera quandary,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12before having what must rank
0:03:12 > 0:03:16as one of the world's oddest and daftest eureka moments.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27The solution I come up with was to try and destroy the camera.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32To ensure he could keep putting food on the table,
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Craig was about to go from family man to feckless felon. But how?
0:03:37 > 0:03:42It's hardly like he could lay his hands on stuff powerful enough to annihilate a speed camera.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46Well, actually he could.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53I planned to destroy the camera by burning it with the stuff I used at work.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58At work, welder Craig used a compound called thermite to fuse railway tracks together.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01It's hot enough to melt steel in seconds.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Craig had eight tubs of it in the back of his van.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13And the desperate dad was about to use it to destroy the camera.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20The van loaded with combustible compound,
0:04:20 > 0:04:25Craig drove 40 miles across the Pennines to wreck the camera before it wrecked his life.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29I parked the van at the side of the camera, climbed on the roof.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Once on top of the van,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Craig placed the thermite on top of the camera and lit the fuse.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42As quick as a speed camera flash, the blaze took hold
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and as the metal menace became a molten puddle, Craig pulled away,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47convinced his troubles were over.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Mission accomplished, really.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59In fact, Craig's troubles were only just beginning.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Enter Police Constable Mark Akers.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07It was his job to investigate the peculiar pyrotechnics.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11It was completely destroyed,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15huge holes burned in it. There was absolutely nothing left inside it.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18I thought, "That's been hit with a rocket launcher." It was a real mess.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24It seemed like Craig had done a decent job of decimating the camera and its contents,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28but in an unfortunate twist for this criminal bright spark,
0:05:28 > 0:05:33it turned out the footage stored inside had escaped completely unharmed.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38The actual recordings of cars going past is based in the ground,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40it's not the actual camera.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44The camera's pictures were perfectly preserved
0:05:44 > 0:05:46and they made for interesting viewing.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48The camera had been activated
0:05:48 > 0:05:52and it clearly showed the offender's vehicle stop underneath the camera.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56It clearly showed the name of the company and the registration of the vehicle.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58The vehicle then begins to rock slowly.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01I would think somebody's either got out or got onto the roof
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and as the vehicle pulled away, you see a few sparks
0:06:04 > 0:06:08and then all of a sudden...
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Bang! And you just get a white screen.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Armed with the van's registration and the company logo,
0:06:17 > 0:06:23police simply traced it back to Craig's work, who confirmed he'd signed it out that night.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Worse still, because all the vans had GPS trackers,
0:06:26 > 0:06:31our feckless firestarter had also provided police with a record of his entire journey.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34From that information, then, I arrested the suspect.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38In a last-ditch attempt to save himself and his job,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Craig denied the offence.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43I was denying it cos I fully intended to go not guilty.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48Not quite catching on to the fact that the evidence was stacked firmly against him,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Craig thought police wouldn't be able to prove he was at the scene.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55They didn't have any evidence that I was the person driving that van.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58You know, that's the facts. They are laid before you.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03"That's all the information we have, it can't be anybody else."
0:07:03 > 0:07:06"Well, I don't know." That was it, "I don't know."
0:07:06 > 0:07:08All I said is I went to bed.
0:07:08 > 0:07:14But what luckless Craig didn't realise was that his small but serious act of fiery vandalism
0:07:14 > 0:07:15could land him in big trouble.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19The misguided moment of madness designed to help him keep his job
0:07:19 > 0:07:23easily fell under explosives and terrorism laws,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27which carry heavy sentences and in the worst cases can lead to life imprisonment.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31He was just a working-class lad who didn't really understand or comprehend
0:07:31 > 0:07:33the severity of what he'd got involved with.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Deciding he didn't much fancy spending a long stretch behind bars,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Craig confessed to the lesser charge of criminal damage.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46They scared me enough to make me crumble and I went guilty.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Craig had caused nearly £12,000 worth of damage
0:07:49 > 0:07:52and he was sentenced to four months in jail.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55In Strangeways.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59As if that wasn't punishment enough,
0:07:59 > 0:08:01there was one final kick in the teeth for Craig.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05The camera itself was more of a traffic monitoring system
0:08:05 > 0:08:09rather than for prosecuting people. He wouldn't have received any fine,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12or anything whatsoever from that camera,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16so all the devious things he did and the trouble he got in,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19it was for nothing, for absolutely nothing.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23I took drastic measures...
0:08:23 > 0:08:25made a mountain out of a molehill.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Having paid his debt to society,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Craig's back home and on the straight and narrow.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32It's not something I'm proud of or 'owt like that.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I did apologise to the people who that camera served.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Like, obviously it stole money out of their pot, do you know what I mean?
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I should have never set off in the van.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Really I should have just gone home.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Next time Craig gets a strange spark of genius,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52here's hoping he snuffs it out sharpish.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00In Bizarre Crime, we're treating you to the most calamitous criminal acts
0:09:00 > 0:09:04caught on camera. Here's one crook not having much luck
0:09:04 > 0:09:06breaking into a Texas liquor store.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10Nice commando roll.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Having wormed his way in through the roof,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16the criminal mastermind is ready to make one hell of an entrance.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Looks like he forgot to commando roll that time.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Having landed on his head, and therefore not injured a vital organ,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33he's soon up and ready for a bit of late-night looting.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38Although this clueless crim has sadly not given much thought as to how he'll make off with his swag.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Unable to crank open the door,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54he tries to exit exactly the way he came in and kind of succeeds...
0:09:59 > 0:10:02..by ending up flat on his back again.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Resigned to the fact he's going nowhere fast,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17the crook eventually kicks back and enjoys a fag break
0:10:17 > 0:10:20to go over his last few minutes of freedom.
0:10:25 > 0:10:31Next tonight is the astonishing and bizarre case of four-wheeled felony that spanned the country
0:10:31 > 0:10:36and involved a master of makeshift disguises who made an absolute mint.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40It's very possible that he took up to 200 tests in total.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43There was £52,000 spread around the house in envelopes,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45laying in drawers.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56For most of us, a driving test is a daunting prospect.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Bit nerve-wracking to see someone next to you writing notes down.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01It's completely scary.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05So what do you do if you're horrified by hill starts
0:11:05 > 0:11:09and a three-point turn makes your stomach churn?
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Like these two law-abiding learner drivers,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16you're likely to either hope for the best or prepare for the worst.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19What you're unlikely to do is pay someone to don a daft disguise,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22pretend to be you and sit the test in your place.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26But incredibly that's exactly the scam
0:11:26 > 0:11:30illegal immigrant Gagan Preet Singh was running in 2010.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34He'd advertise his services, mainly amongst the Indian community,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36saying he was available to take tests for people
0:11:36 > 0:11:38that perhaps felt they couldn't take the test
0:11:38 > 0:11:40or shouldn't be taking the test.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44So he'd be paid a fee and he would take the test on their behalf.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49You might wonder how one man could sit more than one test.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Singh was crafty enough to target his customers well.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56He would choose people that weren't too dissimilar to himself.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Singh knew he would have to alter his appearance at each new test
0:12:02 > 0:12:05to avoid arousing suspicion. So what did he deploy?
0:12:05 > 0:12:10Cunningly applied stage make-up? State-of-the-art prosthetics?
0:12:10 > 0:12:13One day it would be a scarf, another day he'd put a turban on,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15another day he'd wear a beanie hat or a flat cap.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Sorry?
0:12:17 > 0:12:20One day it would be a scarf, another day he'd put a turban on,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23another day he'd wear a beanie hat or a flat cap.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Well, it's hardly Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29but by using this bizarre and staggeringly simple set of disguises
0:12:29 > 0:12:33and by hitting a host of different examiners in different locations,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Singh was able to outwit test centres across the country.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40We've got suspicious incidents and tests we believe he'd taken
0:12:40 > 0:12:42- in Bristol.- Birmingham.- Oxford.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45- Worthing.- Southampton. - Hayes, I believe, in Middlesex.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49In one particular case, he took one test in the morning in West London,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52and then another test in the afternoon in Southampton.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Wherever he was, his services didn't come cheap.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59We think up to about £3,000 a time to take, in some cases,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01both the theory and the practical test.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Certainly not money well spent, because if you were to take
0:13:05 > 0:13:08driving lessons from scratch - you've never driven before -
0:13:08 > 0:13:11you should be able to get through your driving test
0:13:11 > 0:13:14with that sort of money and then be a pretty good driver at the end of it.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And, unbelievably, even after they'd handed over their cash,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27customers weren't guaranteed to get their money's worth.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31He did fail tests, potentially because he was very complacent.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34On one of the occasions, he actually took the test
0:13:34 > 0:13:36three times before he passed it, for the same person.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41The conman's skills at the wheel were as impressive as his criminal genius.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46His dodgy disguises and geographical spread might have helped him evade detection
0:13:46 > 0:13:50but there was one crucial part of his master plan he'd overlooked.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53He would turn up for the tests in the same car.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55I think he even took a test in Birmingham
0:13:55 > 0:13:58then travelled down to Southampton on the same day using the same car.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00That starts to raise suspicion.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04With the same Mini Cooper pulling up at test centres across the country,
0:14:04 > 0:14:05the Driving Standards Agency,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09who oversee driving instruction in the UK, became suspicious.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12A police investigation soon kicked in,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16and following the paper trail connected to his car registration,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20cops were soon able to track Singh down and raid his house.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22We were able to find him,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25a number of disguises and a large quantity of cash.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29There was £52,000 spread around the house in envelopes,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31laying in drawers, things like that.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35But the bundles of bank notes were just a small portion
0:14:35 > 0:14:37of the fortune Singh had raked in.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41It's very possible that he took up to 200 tests in total.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Police suspect Singh could have scammed a staggering half a million pounds,
0:14:45 > 0:14:50but, of course, money wasn't the only driving force behind this crime.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53In a similar case, the driving licences were being used
0:14:53 > 0:14:57as a basis for people taking the citizenship test.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00So it can open a number of doors.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05But providing dodgy IDs wasn't the most disturbing consequence of Singh's swindle.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09In many cases, the people who were paying Gagan Preet Singh
0:15:09 > 0:15:11probably couldn't speak English or read English,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15so the inherent dangers on the roads are pretty obvious, I think.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17A car can be a lethal weapon, can't it?
0:15:17 > 0:15:20You get hit by a car, it's just as bad as being hit by a bullet.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29In court, Singh pleaded guilty to nine counts of fraud by false representation,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32as well as six counts of driving while disqualified,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35as, astonishingly, the shameless fraudster
0:15:35 > 0:15:38had sat some of the tests while banned due to drink driving.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Singh was sentenced to 14 months in prison,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45and his paying customers were in for a bit of a shock too.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47They may have been issued with a full licence,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51but they've all been revoked. They've actually now got to go through the process,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53having paid for somebody else to take their test.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57It will cost them the equivalent again to pass it legitimately.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Once he'd served his time Singh was deported,
0:16:00 > 0:16:05and although he may no longer be in the UK, his four-wheeled partner in crime has remained in Blighty.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08But this time, the police are in the driving seat.
0:16:08 > 0:16:14I'm sitting on the car that was seized. It's now being used by a neighbourhood police team in Surrey.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17We've put livery on it to show that actually crime doesn't pay.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Let the Mini's message and the tale of Gagan Preet Singh
0:16:20 > 0:16:23serve as a warning to learner drivers everywhere.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27Practise a bit harder your three-point turns and your hill starts.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32By paying someone, you'll be out of pocket and probably end up being arrested at a later stage.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41If your mind was boggled by Mr Singh's weird face furniture,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44brace yourself for this week's Criminal Countdown,
0:16:44 > 0:16:49which presents some of the oddest and daftest disguises donned by criminals around the world.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53First up is the man who disguised himself as a tree
0:16:53 > 0:16:57to rob a bank in New Hampshire in 2007.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Improbably, the branch was located on Elm Street
0:17:00 > 0:17:02and the pithy police admitted that the crook had...
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Gone out on a limb.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10The barking raider was caught after being grassed up by someone who recognised him on CCTV.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Odder still is Ohio's moss man
0:17:12 > 0:17:15who claimed he was test-driving his Halloween outfit
0:17:15 > 0:17:19when found in the grounds of a rock and mineral museum in 2010.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Given that it was two weeks before fright night
0:17:26 > 0:17:28and he was face down in the dirt at five in the morning,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31police didn't quite buy it. In fact,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34he'd been lying in wait after digging a tunnel into the museum
0:17:34 > 0:17:39hoping to get his hands on the precious gold nuggets within.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41MOOING
0:17:41 > 0:17:45And if you're not a plant lover, how about an animal disguise?
0:17:45 > 0:17:47One crim in Virginia climbed into a cow suit
0:17:47 > 0:17:52before crawling into a supermarket and stealing 96 gallons of milk,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55which he then handed out to shoppers in the car park.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02MUSIC: "The Imperial March" by John Williams
0:18:02 > 0:18:05More menacing was the robber who turned to the dark side in 2010
0:18:05 > 0:18:09when he held up a Long Island bank disguised as Darth Vader.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Staff initially thought it was a prank,
0:18:11 > 0:18:16but when he pulled out a handgun rather than a light sabre,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20they soon realised this phantom menace meant business.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Not so cunning was the crook who held up a store near Scarborough
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- using his crash helmet as a disguise.- This is a stick-up.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31What he'd forgotten was the helmet
0:18:31 > 0:18:35had his name written across the front in inch-high letters.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44But if you haven't got a helmet to hand,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47why not just use duct tape? Like this witless raider
0:18:47 > 0:18:51who tried to rob a liquor store in Kentucky in 2007.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59But top of this week's countdown for sheer stupidity as much as strangeness
0:18:59 > 0:19:02are the daft duo who were pulled over by police in Iowa
0:19:02 > 0:19:06while making their escape from an attempted burglary in 2009.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09They decided the best way to disguise themselves
0:19:09 > 0:19:12would be to cover their faces in permanent marker.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17The pen might be mightier than the sword
0:19:17 > 0:19:22but it's certainly no replacement for a good balaclava.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31For Bizarre Crime, we've turned the spotlight on the cops,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35asking serving and retired officers from across the country
0:19:35 > 0:19:39to recount the funniest and freakiest things they've encountered.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43What you're about to hear might sound far-fetched,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47but it's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50THEY CLEAR THEIR THROAT
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Welcome to Bizarre Crime's Police Confessional.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Exhibit J - the A12.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02I was on traffic patrol on the A12 in Chelmsford and we got a call
0:20:02 > 0:20:05to say there was a vehicle travelling in the nearside lane
0:20:05 > 0:20:08at a very low speed which was causing a problem.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11I found the car, I got behind it. It was travelling about 10mph.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Eventually I stopped it, got out, and there was a little grey-haired old lady driving.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I said, "Excuse me, is there a problem with your car?"
0:20:18 > 0:20:21She said, "No, it's fine. "I don't drive it very often."
0:20:21 > 0:20:23I said, "Well, why are you travelling at 10mph?"
0:20:23 > 0:20:27She said, "I'm trying to keep within the speed limit." I said, "The speed limit is 70mph."
0:20:27 > 0:20:30"No, it's not," she said, "Look, it's 12mph."
0:20:30 > 0:20:33I said, "No, madam, that is the A12 not the speed limit."
0:20:37 > 0:20:41For our final story, we're heading to Derbyshire.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Not only a county of rolling hills and quiet suburbs,
0:20:45 > 0:20:50but also the scene of a creepy campaign of harassment that truly beggars belief.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54He monitored our movements from seven in the morning until 11 at night.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59This happened every day of our lives. It never, ever stopped.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01MUSIC: Theme song from "Neighbours"
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Wingerworth near Chesterfield is a suburban bungalow haven
0:21:08 > 0:21:13where good neighbours can become good friends.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- This area is tremendous. - Very friendly, very neighbourly.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Honest, law-abiding, and great neighbours.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25It was neighbourliness that first attracted Michael and Kathleen Sharpe to the area.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Everybody's there for everybody else.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31You know, if they want any help, then we'll be there for 'em.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33It was a lovely place to live.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36What they could never had anticipated, however,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40was that across the road lived a neighbour who would become a nightmare,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44all because of one very innocent, very ordinary request.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47We just asked him, quite politely,
0:21:47 > 0:21:51one day, if he could move the car a little bit further forward
0:21:51 > 0:21:54so we could get the car out. Basically, that's how it all started.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Bizarrely, the neighbour became incensed,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02and from that day on, he made it his mission to make the Sharpes' lives miserable.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07He began by making false allegations to the local authorities.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10The first one was environmental health
0:22:10 > 0:22:14and he reported us for making a noise.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16So they came and investigated that
0:22:16 > 0:22:18and discovered of course that it wasn't true.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23The neighbour made up countless complaints and contacted the planning department, the taxman,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27and even told estate agents to put the Sharpes' house up for sale.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30He accused me of pointing a gun at him one day,
0:22:30 > 0:22:35and the police came and arrested me. There were no charges because they knew it was a fabrication,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39- but it was very traumatic.- Of course, when he couldn't do anything else,
0:22:39 > 0:22:44then he started intimidating and harassing us every day.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48And the form this harassment took was breathtakingly bizarre,
0:22:48 > 0:22:52not least because their neighbour waged this weird war
0:22:52 > 0:22:54while hidden behind his hedge.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57He used to stand behind the hedge,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01when it was absolutely teeming it down with rain, whistling.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03WHISTLING
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Every time we left our home,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09he was coughing...
0:23:09 > 0:23:13whistling...laughing.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15MANIACAL LAUGHING
0:23:15 > 0:23:18The laughing used to upset me the most
0:23:18 > 0:23:21because it was a sinister, manic laugh.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Despite attempts to reason with their neighbour,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27the relentless round-the-clock campaign continued,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31and the Sharpes felt they had no choice but to call in the police.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37It's remarkable to note that this man actually stood behind his large beech hedge
0:23:37 > 0:23:41for up to 17 hours a day waiting for them,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45and then he would constantly whistle. WHISTLING
0:23:45 > 0:23:50The Addams Family was one theme tune that the neighbour would whistle on occasions
0:23:50 > 0:23:54or the Laurel and Hardy theme tune.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Mrs Sharpe's daughter had appeared on the Weakest Link
0:23:57 > 0:24:00so he was shouting, "You are the Weakest Link."
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Running up and down the back of the hedge as people walked past shouting,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09"Good morning, good morning," when it was pitch dark and scaring Mrs Sharpe.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11This is a terrible, terrible thing.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13He just about wore us down.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17To help build a case against the Wingerworth Whistler,
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Kathleen kept a diary of his bizarre and obsessive behaviour.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23"Wednesday April 16th -
0:24:23 > 0:24:27"he was coughing and whistling at the back of the hedge."
0:24:27 > 0:24:29It's very difficult, I expect,
0:24:29 > 0:24:34for people to understand that just somebody whistling and coughing can cause so much upset.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39But this happened every day of our lives. It never, ever stopped.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44"Three o'clock - gentleman again at the back of the hedge whistling."
0:24:45 > 0:24:49When people are regularly and intentionally harassed,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52they develop what you call hypervigilance -
0:24:52 > 0:24:57you expect it, you're hypersensitive to it and every time it comes, it needles you more and more.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59"Thursday 24th April -
0:24:59 > 0:25:03"he was stood in front of the lounge window coughing."
0:25:03 > 0:25:07It can be likened a little bit to post traumatic stress disorder, actually.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11Somebody gets mugged in the street. They hear somebody running up afterwards -
0:25:11 > 0:25:13they'll respond with an anxiety not normal to the situation
0:25:13 > 0:25:16because they've experienced something traumatic before.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19"3.25 - he was at the back of the hedge
0:25:19 > 0:25:23"whistling and laughing that very manic laugh."
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Because the Sharpes' neighbour was also making claims against them,
0:25:27 > 0:25:32it was difficult for the police or the authorities to know who was in the wrong
0:25:32 > 0:25:34and who to take action against.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38But Sergeant Rawlinson was determined to crack the case
0:25:38 > 0:25:41and suggested the couple install CCTV cameras.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44The man saw the cameras going in,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47but he still kept doing what he was doing.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Over the coming months, every cough, cackle,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52and crazed act was caught on CCTV.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56WHISTLING
0:25:56 > 0:25:58MANIACAL LAUGH
0:25:58 > 0:26:01WHISTLING
0:26:03 > 0:26:05MANIACAL LAUGH
0:26:05 > 0:26:07WHISTLING
0:26:07 > 0:26:10The Sharpes amassed hours of video evidence
0:26:10 > 0:26:12and the police finally had enough to act.
0:26:12 > 0:26:18The neighbour was arrested for harassment, interviewed and charged.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22The obnoxious neighbour was issued with an ASBO which banned him
0:26:22 > 0:26:25from any further acts of harassment against the Sharpes.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27It didn't stop him at all.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30As soon as he came home, he started again.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Over the next few days, the Whistler breached the ASBO
0:26:34 > 0:26:39a staggering 21 times, but each new offence was caught on CCTV.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42He was again arrested for breach of the antisocial behaviour order,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44and he was given 16 weeks in prison.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48With the weird whistler banged up,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51the Sharpes could finally get life back to normal.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53I felt elated.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I think we all had the best Christmas we'd ever had for five years.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01We decorated the house and all the front and everything. It was great.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04When he was released, the nightmare neighbour sold up and moved on.
0:27:04 > 0:27:10After five years of torment, the Sharpes' house no longer felt like a prison but a home.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Life was terrible, absolutely terrible.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17And now everything is great. We're back to normal.
0:27:23 > 0:27:29Next time on Bizarre Crime - a bungling bin burglar gets trashed.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31We sort of checked the camera twice.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Because you want to make sure that what you're seeing is right.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39One victim uses odd and ingenious methods to track down a phone thief.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44It did feel like that's what it could be like to be a secret agent.
0:27:44 > 0:27:51And the weird criminal conspiracy behind the disappearance of a national treasure.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53The moment I opened it to about there,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57it was clear that this was an Enigma machine.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:21 > 0:28:24E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk