0:00:02 > 0:00:05Thieves will steal our cars, our valuables,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09just about anything they can get their hands on.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12To cut down on crime and anti-social behaviour,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16police and other agencies are using new technology and tactics
0:00:16 > 0:00:19while the bad guys are getting caught in the act.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22I can see the man actually commit the robbery. Lovely, thank you very much.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27Local councils, shops and businesses are laying some traps of their own.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Why should we feel frightened for the rest of our lives?
0:00:29 > 0:00:33And the general public too can help unsuspecting crooks
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- get their comeuppance. - No way are you getting away.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38We did it for everyone else that she might be stealing from.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40We will name and shame you.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44So anyone who's up to no good had better think twice.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46They might just get caught red handed.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54Today:
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Prepare for a shocking sight as two cowardly men with knives
0:00:58 > 0:01:01target a defenceless grandmother.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05But have no fear, Trude puts up the fight of her life.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08This is it. I remember saying, "This is it,"
0:01:08 > 0:01:10but let it go down fighting.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13They picked the wrong garage and the wrong woman to rob.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Also today - a specialist thief steals laptops from offices.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22You can see there's a white cable hanging
0:01:22 > 0:01:26out of the bottom of his T-shirt and a suspicious rectangular item.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Laptops may be replaceable but the loss of what's in them
0:01:30 > 0:01:32can have serious affects.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34He's hurt a lot of people.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40And, OK, we know thieves will take anything they can get hold of
0:01:40 > 0:01:43but giant bananas? Really?
0:01:55 > 0:01:58The village of Knowle on the North Devon coast.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It's the autumn.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03The tourists have left and things have quietened down.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05A beautiful part of the world.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09But one evening, a local garage faces a dark threat.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14This security camera is recording the scene
0:02:14 > 0:02:16inside the Knowle garage shop.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20The manager, Trude, is about to close up for the night.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23What happens next is shocking.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Trude's no security guard.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30She is just an ordinary shopkeeper, a grandmother, and she's all alone.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Two robbers suddenly storm in and attack her.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38One's armed with a knife, the other with a meat cleaver.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42But it's important to know, although these are violent criminals,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Trude somehow manages to avoid getting hurt.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52In fact, terrifying as this is,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55we'll see how the tables are about to turn on these criminals
0:02:55 > 0:02:58with the help of police technology
0:02:58 > 0:03:00and the courage of the woman they're attacking.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It's hard making a living out here.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Why should they come and take what's not theirs? I was angry.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Detective Inspector Dave Atkinson
0:03:08 > 0:03:12of the Devon and Cornwall Police is also angry.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15They know that Trude is in there by herself.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16She's a 65-year-old grandmother
0:03:16 > 0:03:21and yet they put her through an absolute nightmare and deserve everything they're going to get.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Trude and her husband have lived in Devon for seven years
0:03:34 > 0:03:37after moving from Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40My daughter kept saying, "Why don't you come down here?
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Every time we come here on holiday, it's so lovely, it's a beautiful part of the world really
0:03:44 > 0:03:48so we came down here to be near her and the grandchildren.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Trude's husband commutes to work to run a business there
0:03:51 > 0:03:55but he also bought the garage and shop in Knowle as a going concern.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Trude helps manage it with her son-in-law.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01It's nice, a nice feel to it and we've got local staff.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03It is nice as well.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07The shop ticks over and usually days pass without incident.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09But Trude's glad to have the reassuring presence
0:04:09 > 0:04:12of the cameras that are installed.
0:04:12 > 0:04:18Having CCTV does give you a certain amount of feeling safe.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Because you are quite vulnerable when you're there on your own.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26And Trude is on her own the night the armed robbers burst in.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29It's closing time at eight o'clock.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Trude's put the day's takings in a safe
0:04:31 > 0:04:35and left a £50 float in the till. Now she's finishing up.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39We have to record the scratchcards we have sold
0:04:39 > 0:04:41so I was jotting down the numbers.
0:04:41 > 0:04:47But just then the doorbell rings and two figures approach crouching down.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50They looked like kids mucking about.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Of course, then they came close and I realised.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57It's like a scene from a horror movie but it's real.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59The two men dressed in balaclavas and hoodies
0:04:59 > 0:05:03rush forward brandishing their weapons.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06I remember thinking, "This is it. But let it go down fighting."
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Trude instinctively puts her hands up to defend herself.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14And then I suddenly thought, try to get to the phone and do 999.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17The man shoves Trude backwards away from the phone
0:05:17 > 0:05:20and she smashes against a cigarette cabinet.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24I did actually have the phone in my hand and was going to dial
0:05:24 > 0:05:26when he pushed me and I did hurt myself
0:05:26 > 0:05:29but it didn't register really.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32The man hacks violently with the meat cleaver at the phone and cable.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34It looks like he's hacking me
0:05:34 > 0:05:39but he started with his meat clever to hit the telephone.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42And I do remember thinking, I wonder if it's going to be my head next?
0:05:42 > 0:05:45And the other chap in black kept saying, "Open the till."
0:05:45 > 0:05:48I kept saying, "You're making me nervous, I can't do it."
0:05:48 > 0:05:54They need Trude standing to open the till but they're so rough she falls.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57He pushed me again there.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00And when I was on the floor I pressed the panic button.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05The man who's dressed in black sees Trude press the panic button
0:06:05 > 0:06:08and it makes him start to panic.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12He wants to leave but the other man shouts at Trude to open the safe.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17He said to me, "Go and get to the safe."
0:06:17 > 0:06:20And I said, "You're in the way", to the chap in black.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24"You are in the way. I have to get passed you."
0:06:24 > 0:06:28And he said, "Run, she's pushed the alarm."
0:06:29 > 0:06:32And I said, "Yes, you'd better." I noticed he'd put the knife there.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38I picked up the knife. I thought, right, I'm going to defend myself.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Trude chases after them with their own knife.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44I don't know what I would have done if he'd have turned round.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48I mean...we'd have a knife fight or whatever, I don't know.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52But all the men want to do is escape.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Trude goes to the office to call the police.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58The robbers, flustered by her resistance
0:06:58 > 0:07:00and put off by the panic button,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03have only managed to steal the £50 float.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05I was so lucky.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07If he hadn't seen me press the alarm,
0:07:07 > 0:07:13I would have had to go in to show them the safe.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16The police are quickly on the scene.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19DI Dave Atkinson heads the investigating team.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Officers were on scene within five or ten minutes.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26It was obvious to them this had been a very serious crime
0:07:26 > 0:07:28and further units were dispatched to the scene in order to
0:07:28 > 0:07:31look for evidence and look for the offenders.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34It was a priority we got them locked up as soon as possible.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37But how do you identify robbers whose faces are hidden
0:07:37 > 0:07:39behind balaclavas and hoodies?
0:07:39 > 0:07:44Well, with the help of a trained dog with a highly sensitive nose, that's how.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Dave's team have a breakthrough within just 15 minutes.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51On the night in question, following the robbery, they've come out,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55they've initially gone right and then gone out of camera shot.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57However, ten minutes later when the dog unit arrived
0:07:57 > 0:08:00and he parked up here, the dog gets straight out
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and the dog tracks off on a very strong scent down that way round the corner.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08The dog keeps tracking for several hundred metres down the road
0:08:08 > 0:08:09and up a country lane.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12There's no street lights or anything so in November at 8.00pm,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16this would have been pitch black. That's when the dog becomes invaluable then
0:08:16 > 0:08:17because he's just relying on scent.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23The dog's trusty nose takes them to a hedge by an allotment.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27The dog led the dog handler to this point here and we found a pile of clothing
0:08:27 > 0:08:30which we believed to have belonged to the offenders
0:08:30 > 0:08:32because the dog has tracked from the scene to here.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Then the dog finds another clue to the robbers' movements.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Following the discovery of the clothing, the dog tracked
0:08:37 > 0:08:41a further 100 metres up to this area here where the track just stopped.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45This is the point where we believe they got into a vehicle and left the scene.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And the next day, search teams find one more item.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Just off the main road we found the meat cleaver hidden in a bush here.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55The evidence is bagged up and sent to a forensic lab
0:08:55 > 0:08:58to see if there are any traces of DNA.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01They hope it will reveal the identities.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Later, we'll see detectives gather CCTV from different locations
0:09:08 > 0:09:11to piece together what happened on the night of the robbery.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15We had a name put forward as a potential suspect.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17They're closing in on the robbers.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24As well as dealing with serious crimes
0:09:24 > 0:09:26like the raid on Trude's shop,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29police time and technology also has to deal with
0:09:29 > 0:09:32the petty antics of fraudsters like this guy in a lift.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42This CCTV camera in the lift of an underground station
0:09:42 > 0:09:46is about to capture one of the worst attempts at a fake injury claim
0:09:46 > 0:09:48you're ever likely to see.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50This man enters.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53After punching in his floor then does a double take
0:09:53 > 0:09:55when he notices the security camera.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Anyway, moments later he appears to have dropped something.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03What's that?
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Oh, it's a banana skin.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Careful! You might slip!
0:10:08 > 0:10:12For the rest of the trip he stays resolutely looking ahead
0:10:12 > 0:10:15but can't resist a shifty glance at the camera
0:10:15 > 0:10:17to work out if it's working.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18Yes, we can see you!
0:10:18 > 0:10:22OK, here's your floor, mind yourself on the way out.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Oh, oops.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30What bad luck, to land exactly on that banana skin.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Oh, well, at least he got up pretty quickly.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38But incredibly, this man claimed for injuries to his left leg and hip
0:10:38 > 0:10:42and tried to get a five figure sum in compensation,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46saying a station attendant should have cleaned up the peel
0:10:46 > 0:10:48before he entered the lift.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Unfortunately, not realising this footage had been recorded,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55he slipped up in more ways than one.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59After examining it, the police decide to charge him with fraud.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Now, this bloke needs to get something off his chest
0:11:08 > 0:11:12because if you look closely you can see a cable hanging out
0:11:12 > 0:11:14the bottom of his T-shirt.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18He's hiding a laptop computer and it's not his.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21He's been on a crime spree stealing equipment from offices.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27We often get burglars say, "I don't do houses, I just do offices."
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Like that somehow morally justifies what they're doing.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34We don't see it like that. Burglary is never a victimless crime.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Burglars who raid offices might think it's just faceless equipment
0:11:38 > 0:11:41they're stealing but Ros knows otherwise.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43He's affected my life, the life of my family
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and the charity that my husband and I run.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49He's hurt a lot of people.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51We'll see how in Leicester,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Ros badly needs to get her stolen laptop back.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56And how in the City of London,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59police are clamping down on office burglars.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Any time you're breaking into somewhere to steal,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05that is morally reprehensible and you need to be brought to justice.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Ros Barnes runs a fashion design business in Leicester.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20One day recently she was working at her sewing machine
0:12:20 > 0:12:24unaware that a man had crept upstairs and into the studio office.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27I heard the door close and I thought, oh, that's rude.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Somebody's not come in.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32They've gone out and they haven't even said hello,
0:12:32 > 0:12:33they've just gone out.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36I just saw a man disappearing down the corridor.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41I shouted to my friend, "Check and see if the handbag's still here.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44"She came back and said, "Oh, yes, the handbag's here."
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Then I looked in the office and the laptop had gone.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Ros went looking for the man.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53See if I can just get that laptop back even if I have to say to him,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57"Look, follow me to the cashpoint, I will give you £50.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00"You give me the laptop back, let's call it a day." Take it no further.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02But he'd vanished.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05After reporting the theft to police,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09she checked her neighbour's CCTV recording.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12They have cameras that overlook the entrance.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15It shows the thief trying one door but it's locked,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18so he heads upstairs to Ross's studio.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23The enormity of what I lost just hit me as I was watching him
0:13:23 > 0:13:25walking out the door with it.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Precious photos of Ros's son, Alex, are on the laptop.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Seven years ago he fell ill with a life-threatening brain tumour
0:13:33 > 0:13:37and needed a new type of therapy in America.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40We raised £57,000 in three days
0:13:40 > 0:13:42through the generosity of the people of the East Midlands.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45When we were in the States he had his tumour taken out
0:13:45 > 0:13:50and then he started proton therapy and we were there for nearly four months.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53So, he's come back and he's never looked back.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55He's been absolutely perfect
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and he's cancer free after five years now.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Ros and her husband set up a charity to help other families
0:14:02 > 0:14:05with children that need similar treatment.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Information about the charity is also on the laptop.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13I'm extremely worried that I can not keep in touch with these families,
0:14:13 > 0:14:17I can not follow up with them what I've started.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19I can't finish what I've started.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22And that's the thing that's really hurting me.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29It's unlikely that thieves even consider the pain they might cause
0:14:29 > 0:14:32their victims but the police want to make sure they do.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39The City of London.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Within its one square mile of high rise offices,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44laptop thefts are a common problem.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46It's an important commercial area.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52So important, since 1839 it's had its own crime fighting force,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54the City of London Police.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57We're the smallest territorial police force in the country.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00We're primarily an area that's dominated by big business
0:15:00 > 0:15:02and we're the European centre of finance.
0:15:02 > 0:15:09It also has one of the highest densities of CCTV cameras in the world.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11CCTV is massively critical to us.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15We try not to become dependant on it but it's such a useful tool.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18And those cameras proved crucial recently
0:15:18 > 0:15:23when Steve and his colleagues get reports of a spate of burglaries.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25This is the first footage of the thief at work.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29It shows how easy it is for him to get into a building.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34He simply loiters outside and waits for someone to enter or leave.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37The doors have slid open and you'll see him rush
0:15:37 > 0:15:40in order to wedge his foot into the closing glass doors.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42The mobile phone's always in the hand
0:15:42 > 0:15:44as if that's going to make him naturalise,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46make him look like he belongs.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48And the male reverses backwards through the door.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50The man goes up in a lift.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56A few minutes later he's leaving with a stolen laptop and a bin bag.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00That's so if he's challenged he can pretend he's a cleaner.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02This was the first offence in a series of offences.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05We could not identify him from this footage alone.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09But four days later, he's back.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Only this time he actually forces a door open.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16His body's bracing as if he's pulling on the magnetically locked door.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20He manages to get in but he's been seen.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23A security guard has located him in the second floor,
0:16:23 > 0:16:28challenged him verbally, at which point this suspect has run away.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29The thief gets away
0:16:29 > 0:16:33but security staff have control of the cameras and they track him.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36This is where the CCTV work really comes into its own.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39This footage shows the front of that office space.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42You can see how it's zooming because the guard's looking for the suspect.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45And you can see a very, very clear facial shot,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48clearly in the same clothing as the previous offence.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Also, when I let it run, you can see there's a white cable
0:16:51 > 0:16:53hanging out the bottom of his T-shirt
0:16:53 > 0:16:56and a suspicious rectangular item wedged up his T-shirt
0:16:56 > 0:17:00which is in fact the MacBook that was stolen from the premises.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Security call the police
0:17:02 > 0:17:06but unfortunately the man escapes before they can get there.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09However, they've now got that close-up of his face.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12The face image is so clear it allowed us
0:17:12 > 0:17:14to make a good identification of the male.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18His name is Anthony Mannigan, well-known to the police
0:17:18 > 0:17:20and only just out of prison.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24He had to go to probation, which is a condition of his release
0:17:24 > 0:17:26from prison, that he has to attend certain appointments.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29We arrested him when he attended his probation appointment.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34With all the video evidence against him,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37he is found guilty of committing four burglaries
0:17:37 > 0:17:40and is given a four-and-a-half year prison sentence.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Steve and his colleagues are pleased with the result.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45It takes him out of circulation.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Some of the laptops he stole belong to personal victims
0:17:49 > 0:17:52who worked at the companies. To lose that is like the modern day handbag.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54You lose everything you own.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56So we're obviously very, very happy
0:17:56 > 0:17:59that he was put inside for that length of time.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Back up in Leicester, Ros, who's lost precious photos
0:18:07 > 0:18:09when her laptop was stolen,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11still has hope that it might be returned to her.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16I'm hoping that when this person looks at the photographs
0:18:16 > 0:18:20they realise that actually this is the laptop they've heard about and seen on TV.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26That, er, it belongs to the family of a little boy who has really,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29really struggled and overcome cancer twice
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and he's got all his life documented on that PC.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38So, I'm hoping that the person that buys that laptop or gets given it,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41thinks, you know what, I don't really need it that much,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43let's get it back to the family.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47If anybody has information that might lead to the return
0:18:47 > 0:18:50of Ros's laptop, please contact Leicestershire Police.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Computers can contain so much information about our lives
0:19:01 > 0:19:05and quite often it's valuable personal stuff that's irreplaceable.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09So what can we do to try and keep it safe?
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Back up your information if you possibly can regularly
0:19:12 > 0:19:16so you've got all your photographs and your personal information
0:19:16 > 0:19:18that you really treasure so it will still be there.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22So many of us have hooked up to different sites where we can
0:19:22 > 0:19:24purchase things with the click of a button.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26It's recognised by our computer.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30If you don't have a security password that thief can order things
0:19:30 > 0:19:32online with all your credit card details.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35You should take a note of the serial number,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37visit your local police website
0:19:37 > 0:19:42and it will show you how to register your laptop online.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Mark your laptop with a security pen, password protect it
0:19:46 > 0:19:48and above all, lock it away.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Coming up:
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Following the armed robbery at Trude's garage shop in Devon,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02police get a lead after a public appeal for help.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06The community rallied around and a name was given to us.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10And they uncover more vital CCTV evidence.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20Worthing.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24It's 3.00am when these two men walk up the drive of a health spa,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27briefly glancing up at the camera and shielding themselves
0:20:27 > 0:20:30from the glare of the security light.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32They're clearly up to no good.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35At this hour they must be after something valuable, don't you think?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Well, let's just say it's a bit of a surprise
0:20:38 > 0:20:43when one of the men comes back with a six foot inflatable banana.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Yes, a six foot inflatable banana!
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Getting into the car, he then waits for his accomplice
0:20:49 > 0:20:53who's also stealing a six foot inflatable banana.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56But before they can, erm, split,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59they seem to get delayed by the difficulty of trying to contain
0:20:59 > 0:21:04two large inflatable bananas in the back of a small, three-door car.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06But finally, they're off.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11Karen here had been using these inflatables as part of a promotion
0:21:11 > 0:21:15to reward people who cycle to her health spa with a free banana.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19A bit deflated by the loss of her inflatables,
0:21:19 > 0:21:24Karen put out a banana a-peel for information releasing this footage.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Tracking down the vehicle's number plate,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Sussex Police found the bananas at one of the men's houses.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33He and the bananas were put in custard, sorry,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37custody for a while before he got his just desserts!
0:21:37 > 0:21:39A caution for theft.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42While Karen was pumped up with pleasure at the thought
0:21:42 > 0:21:44of getting her inflatables back.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Back to Knowle in North Devon
0:21:56 > 0:21:59and the violent robbery at the local garage shop.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Detective Inspector Dave Atkinson,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04who's overseeing the police investigation,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08reviews the footage of how shop manager, Trude, defended herself.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Her reaction was to put her hands up to it and it was a miracle.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14When we saw this footage for the first time,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18we were astounded that she didn't have injuries because he was
0:22:18 > 0:22:23waving the machete around, completely reckless to her safety at all.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Trude stood up to the armed men throughout the robbery
0:22:26 > 0:22:29and even tried to call the police in front of them.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32What we have here is the telephone that Trude was trying to
0:22:32 > 0:22:34telephone the police on.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37You can quite clearly see the damage that's been caused by the meat cleaver.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39It was a frightening ordeal
0:22:39 > 0:22:43but Trude was determined not to let it affect her too much.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47She even decided to return to work the very next day.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Because I did not want them to spoil the rest of my life,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53and I like life.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57The detectives are closing in on the culprits.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00They've already found their clothes and the meat cleaver
0:23:00 > 0:23:03which had been sent to a forensic lab.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07While they wait for the results, Dave, using the CCTV footage,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11decides to appeal directly to the public for information.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I went to the local media and I asked for a name
0:23:14 > 0:23:19because I said, my team would do the rest if we got a name.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22The community rallied around and a name was given to us.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27That name is Jamie Latta, a 27-year-old from Plymouth.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32When the DNA results came back from the lab, his name pops up again.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36They knew that Latta had worn one of the balaclavas.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40The results also reveal two other people, a 24-year-old man
0:23:40 > 0:23:44who lives locally called Lee Prowse, and his girlfriend.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47The key element of the inquiry then was to prove
0:23:47 > 0:23:50they associated with each other. And if so, where were they
0:23:50 > 0:23:54immediately before the robbery and immediately after the robbery.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56The three suspects are questioned
0:23:56 > 0:23:59but they claim they barely know each other.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02The investigators start to piece together where the suspects were
0:24:02 > 0:24:04on the days around the robbery.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08They do this by tracking their mobile phone signals.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12It gives them more locations to trawl for CCTV evidence.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15The police also go back to see Trude at the shop.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20Maybe she'd noticed something unusual in the days before the robbery?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23There was an incident the day before where I noticed
0:24:23 > 0:24:26these two young men, we were quite busy, and they came in.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29One of them said, "You do coffee. I'll have a coffee."
0:24:29 > 0:24:33And then as he was paying for it, he said, "We just needed the water,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36"we've got coffee in the car." There was a girl with them.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39The new footage proves useful for Dave's team.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43It was bingo, really, because we had Prowse, Latta
0:24:43 > 0:24:46and the girlfriend all in the garage together.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49The reason being, clearly, they want to see how Trude accesses the till,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53whether there's an alarm system and how she goes about her business.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Then more important evidence is found.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02CCTV pictures from a hotel taken on the evening of the robbery.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05This element of it was quite important to actually show
0:25:05 > 0:25:08they knew each other and they knew each other very, very well.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10In fact, they stayed in the same room.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12The guy with the shaved head is Latta.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15He's a career criminal and quite a nasty piece of work.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17He's got a string of violence convictions.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21This chap here is Prowse.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Again, he's a career criminal but more petty crime
0:25:24 > 0:25:27with a string of convictions for theft-related matters.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32The girlfriend, her involvement in this was key
0:25:32 > 0:25:35because she was the only one that had a car and therefore
0:25:35 > 0:25:39she was driving them around in order to commit this robbery.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Her car is spotted at a petrol station in Braunton,
0:25:42 > 0:25:44a few miles from Trude's shop
0:25:44 > 0:25:48and just 20 minutes before the crime takes place.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51And putting in the petrol is Prowse.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54But the most compelling evidence actually comes from the police themselves.
0:25:54 > 0:26:00Weeks before the crime, their CCTV camera at Barnstable police station
0:26:00 > 0:26:04captures Latta walking in, and guess what?
0:26:04 > 0:26:07He's wearing a familiar looking hoodie.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12The most important exhibit that we recovered was the grey hoodie
0:26:12 > 0:26:17which, with the three distinctive buttons which Latta was wearing,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19which we were then able, through CCTV, to show him
0:26:19 > 0:26:22coming into the police station wearing the same hoodie.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29It puts Latta in the same clothes as the man with the meat cleaver.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32The evidence is stacked against him.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36The CCTV from the police station was the final piece in the jigsaw, if you like.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40The gang are arrested.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47In court, Latta pleads guilty and is sentenced to six years in prison.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Prowse tries to fight his case but he is also found guilty
0:26:54 > 0:26:56and jailed for seven years.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02His girlfriend is given a four year sentence.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06It's a pleasing result for Dave's team
0:27:06 > 0:27:09who put together such a convincing case.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12These three people have gone into this garage the day before,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15they know that Trude is in there by herself.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17She's a 65-year-old grandmother.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21The following day when they go in there waving their meat cleavers around with balaclavas,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24they knew who was going to be in there.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Particularly callous, particularly heartless.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30They did not know what my reaction would be.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32They could have made me a nervous wreck.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36That is, I think, is worse than taking away money.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40I think we'll all sleep a lot better the fact they're going to be behind bars for some time.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42Oh, I was very relieved.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45I still don't know how the police did it, I really don't.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Since the night Trude stood up to the robbers,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55friends and locals have shown a lot of support for her
0:27:55 > 0:28:00and she's also been awarded £500 by the judge for her bravery.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04I had so many flowers and cards, and hugs and chocolates.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08One of my little customers goes to the same school as my grandchildren
0:28:08 > 0:28:10in Braunton.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14A couple of days afterwards he came up to me and said,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16"Thank you for chasing away the robbers."
0:28:23 > 0:28:24That's it for today.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Join us next time when the police and the public
0:28:26 > 0:28:29catch more criminals red handed.