0:00:00 > 0:00:03Thieves will steal our cars,
0:00:03 > 0:00:08our valuables, just about anything they can get their hands on.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12To cut down on crime and antisocial behaviour,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15the police are using new tactics and technology
0:00:15 > 0:00:18where the bad guys are getting caught in the act.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22I can see the man actually commit the robbery. Lovely. Thank you very much!
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Local councils, shops and businesses are laying some traps of their own.
0:00:26 > 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 get their comeuppance.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35No way are you getting away!
0:00:35 > 0:00:37We did it for everyone else as well that she might be stealing from.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39We will name and shame you.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41So, anyone who's up to no good
0:00:41 > 0:00:43had better think twice.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46They might just get caught red handed!
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Today, a burglar captured on camera breaking into a house,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00frantically tries to break out again moments later.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Which is not easy, when someone's got hold of your legs!
0:01:04 > 0:01:07My thought was, "No way are you getting away."
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Also today, motorbike madness.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Had this gentleman fallen off that bike or lost control,
0:01:14 > 0:01:16we could have had multiple fatalities on that road.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19North Yorkshire police used the latest technology
0:01:19 > 0:01:20to catch the culprits.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25We will not tolerate people abusing the road regulations in North Yorkshire.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29And a parcel, hidden out of sight for when the homeowner returns,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33is collected by someone else altogether.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50You know how cats tend to land on their feet when they drop from a height?
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Well, what about cat burglars?
0:01:52 > 0:01:54What do they do?
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Keep your eye on these houses on this quiet street.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01It's in Blackburn, Lancashire, at about 8.30 at night.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06That dark movement is a thief's head poking out of a small bedroom window.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08He's struggling to escape.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Luckily, this crime has been captured by a camera down the street.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17We'll find out shortly what extraordinary things happened next
0:02:17 > 0:02:21in this, the latest break-in at this particular house.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27It belongs to an 86-year-old grandmother.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29She wants us to tell her story,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31but wishes to remain anonymous.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34So let's just call her Mary.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35TV IS ON
0:02:35 > 0:02:40Mary moved in here 22 years ago with her husband, who's sadly passed away.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44For the last 15 years, despite having a heart condition,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46she wanted to live on her own.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Still, members of her large family regularly visit.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54They think I'm very brave, really, staying here on my own.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57You know, and I have done for all these years.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02It's not easy. You don't want intruders.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07You just want, if somebody comes to the door, to invite them in.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10You know, but not that way!
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Not through the bedroom window!
0:03:14 > 0:03:19But unfortunately, Mary has had more than her fair share of unwanted visitors, too.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22On a previous occasion, a while ago,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25this brave lady came face-to-face with an intruder in her bedroom
0:03:25 > 0:03:27in the middle of the night.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32Someone had broken in through another upstairs window,
0:03:32 > 0:03:33through the bathroom window.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38They had been in the house for a substantial amount of time.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42The thief entered the house when Mary was shopping in town.
0:03:42 > 0:03:48We'd been for my pension. We came back, and of course I got on with whatever.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50Hearing the householder return,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52the intruder hid under the stairs.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55I was going in the kitchen, making my tea,
0:03:55 > 0:04:01and I watched television and just ambled about, really, from the kitchen into here.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Without looking very elegant, I'm sure!
0:04:04 > 0:04:08He then sneaked upstairs where he waited until night time.
0:04:08 > 0:04:14She'd gone to bed, and this guy was under her bed for hours.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17I was up and down all night till three o'clock.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22She knew something was wrong. She didn't know what it was. She kept on getting up.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24I went to the window for something or other,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26just again to look out to see if the trees were blowing.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30And when I turned round, he got from beneath the bed
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and he ran to the stairs.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40The only thing I saw of him was that he had a Mohican haircut.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42He just said he was sorry.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46I shouted to him to get out.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48He may have sounded sorry,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50but no amount of apologies can make up
0:04:50 > 0:04:54for leaving a vulnerable elderly lady without her pension and bank card.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58And with a terrible shock to her peace of mind.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I think basically it does shock you
0:05:00 > 0:05:03but you've got to get on with living, haven't you?
0:05:03 > 0:05:06They'll either put you in a home, or else you stay at home.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09And I don't want to go in a home.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12But recently, history repeated itself.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Mary had yet another break-in.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18This time, some of Mary's family were visiting.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23Her daughter Janet had come with her husband Neil and their one-year-old son.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25We were staying for the Easter weekend
0:05:25 > 0:05:27and we actually were booked in a hotel.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31And we were about to leave to go back to the hotel.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36I had been out and loaded up the car and we were all set to go.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38In fact, the only reason we hadn't left already
0:05:38 > 0:05:44was we were trying to get my one-year-old son settled before we put him in the car.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48So we were all quite quiet in the front room.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50It's quiet outside, too,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52apart from this man.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Neil noticed him while he was packing his car, parked over the road.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58But the man walked on up the road
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and wouldn't have seen Neil go back in the house.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Minutes later, though, the camera shows the man coming back.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08He's spotted a small open window upstairs in Mary's house
0:06:08 > 0:06:10that he thinks is empty.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12And this man is a thief.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Apparently, this person walked to the end of the road there
0:06:17 > 0:06:19and then came back.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22But Neil was parked just slightly above here
0:06:22 > 0:06:27so maybe he didn't realise that he was in this house.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31The man also doesn't realise his every move is being recorded.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35The purpose of the CCTV camera circled here
0:06:35 > 0:06:38is to watch an industrial unit at the end of the street.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42By sheer luck, it's about to capture the work of a cat burglar.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Obviously believing there's no-one at home,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47the man shins up a drainpipe.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50There was only my window open.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51They hear a noise.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56Janet said she thought there was someone playing about outside.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59I heard a scrambling at the window.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01I thought it was kids messing around.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05I didn't for one minute think it would be anyone breaking in.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08She said to Neil, just go out and see what's happening.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Something made me look up.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15There was a pair of legs disappearing in through the top window!
0:07:16 > 0:07:20- My initial thought was, "Right, - BLEEP- "there's someone breaking in!
0:07:20 > 0:07:22"I need to get in there quick.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25"Cos right now I know he's in that bedroom."
0:07:25 > 0:07:30He rushed back in and told me and my mum to get back into the living room.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34I shouted, "Phone the police. Shut the door. Stay in this room."
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Neil ran up the stairs.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41The burglar himself is surprised, too,
0:07:41 > 0:07:45by the shouting and loud footsteps charging up the stairs towards him.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47The stupidity of it.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52I just could not believe someone was climbing in an upstairs bedroom window
0:07:52 > 0:07:55in an occupied house.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01As Neil entered the room, the intruder ducks for cover behind the bed.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Neil's caught him red handed, really.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Given that he'd dived on the floor,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10my thought was, "Well, stay down."
0:08:10 > 0:08:16So I shouted at him to stay on the floor. Don't get up.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Realising his hiding place isn't working too well,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21the bungling burglar gets to his feet
0:08:21 > 0:08:23and there's a kind of Mexican stand-off
0:08:23 > 0:08:25with the double bed separating the two men.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29He just kind of looked at me
0:08:29 > 0:08:31and he just sort of said, "Sorry."
0:08:31 > 0:08:35And I can't honestly remember what I said,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39but it probably wasn't too pleasant what I said back to him!
0:08:39 > 0:08:45Meanwhile, downstairs, Janet with the baby and Mary can hear snatches of the activity above them.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51My mum has a heart condition, so she was really frightened,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53really, really scared.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57My little boy was screaming cos he'd sensed there was something going on.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00My heart was thumping, really thumping,
0:09:00 > 0:09:06because I seemed to have people all round me that were sort of in trouble, really.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09My husband, I thought, "What on earth..? Does this guy have a knife?"
0:09:09 > 0:09:13We had no idea what he was going into.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15I just knew that he'd gone upstairs to face this guy
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and it was very frightening.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Later, the cat burglar uses up one of his nine lives
0:09:25 > 0:09:27in a crazy bid for freedom.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It's amazing how he managed not to kill himself.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37But he leaves behind some vital evidence.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44There's one type of dangerous crime
0:09:44 > 0:09:47that is committed every day by otherwise ordinary people.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50It happens when they're driving their car.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Or, as in this case, when riding a motorbike.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00This is an actual traffic police video recording of a motorway in Cornwall.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04All the car drivers seem to be sticking to the speed limit,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06but then suddenly...
0:10:07 > 0:10:09..a motorbike goes speeding by.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13The police start chasing the rider
0:10:13 > 0:10:18and they have to accelerate to over 90 miles an hour to get behind him.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22But then the biker decides to speed up even more.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26The police car tries to stay with him.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32At one point, it reaches an incredible 144 miles an hour,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34just to keep him in sight.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Then the biker decides to leave the motorway.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42He high-tails it past some roadworks
0:10:42 > 0:10:44and without slowing much for a roundabout,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46heads onto a country road.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52The rider now has bends to contend with
0:10:52 > 0:10:55and at one point pulls out into the path of an oncoming car.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00It's crazy driving, putting not just his own life in danger,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02but that of the car driver as well.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Thankfully, he gives himself up a few minutes later.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Dangerous racing like this is not uncommon on our roads
0:11:11 > 0:11:13and it leads to death and serious injury.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21One of the worst affected areas of motorcycle accidents
0:11:21 > 0:11:23is North Yorkshire.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25In 2010, 2011
0:11:25 > 0:11:29there were up to 60 motorcyclists killed or seriously injured
0:11:29 > 0:11:31on the roads in North Yorkshire.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Bikers from all over the country are drawn to this area.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37We have the Yorkshire Dales, the Yorkshire Moors, lots of rural areas.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42It is a Mecca, really, attractive to people riding motorcycles.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Dozens and dozens of bikers turn up every week.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50They all meet at a place which is about 12 miles from York.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52It's known as Squire's Cafe Bar.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Unfortunately, one of the by-products of that is that a very small minority
0:11:57 > 0:12:02are committing serious offences, and that's not acceptable.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Why go at such high speeds? I guess it's for the thrill.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09The highest speed captured by North Yorkshire at the moment on the dual carriageway is 144 miles an hour.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14We've had antics of people wheelying, standing up on their seats with their arms to the side
0:12:14 > 0:12:16looking like Jesus Christ.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18All these antics are very dangerous to other road users.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23In order to crack down on dangerous biking and the accidents it causes,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27the North Yorkshire police have come up with a plan and a very special van.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31This is no normal police caravan.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33The cutting-edge technology inside here
0:12:33 > 0:12:38has been especially designed to catch Britain's fastest law-breakers red handed.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42We have cameras at the side, two cameras in the front of the vehicle.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44And another camera on the other side of the van
0:12:44 > 0:12:46and one more at the back,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48giving a 360-degree view.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51As soon as this camera loses because it comes out of focus,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and goes off, the side camera will pick it up.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Then the two front cameras pick it up as it leaves.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59It's these high definition cameras that give this van the edge.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Whereas before, vehicles going too fast simply couldn't be identified,
0:13:03 > 0:13:07no-one can outrun the clever video processing equipment in this van.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11That motorcycle as it passes, we can capture that on film.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Like this motorcyclist, who they caught going 104 miles an hour
0:13:16 > 0:13:18past a horse and rider.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23All this is to help save lives.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Both PC Andy Forth and Dave Brown,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28who manages the safety camera unit
0:13:28 > 0:13:30are very experienced traffic officers.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35They have seen first-hand the aftermath of tragic motorcycle accidents.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40I myself have pulled out motorcyclists from the back of hedgebacks,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42I've seen them decapitated,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I've seen limbs torn from them,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47I've had to go to their families, seen the impact on their families,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50their communities, their friends. It's devastating.
0:13:51 > 0:13:56One family that knows that all too well is Sarah McCarthy and her daughter, Katie.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Stewart was also my brother's friend.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03We'd met on a night out in town.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05It just went from there, really.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07We hit it off like a house on fire.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Both Sarah and her husband Stewart has a background with motorcycles.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14He took to riding too well, really.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Every opportunity he would be out. I think it was the adrenaline rush he got from it.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21There was no stopping him.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Then in 2009, after ten years together,
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Stewart went out for an evening ride with a group of friends.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30There were four of them that night.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34And he'd passed the lad that was in the lead,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37and was calling him an idiot.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41And his friend had noticed that the bend was coming up
0:14:41 > 0:14:43and had anchored on the brakes
0:14:43 > 0:14:45and was screaming at him to slow down,
0:14:45 > 0:14:50but Stewart hadn't, and it was only when he lifted his head up he realised it was too late.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54They estimated he was doing between 120 and 140 miles an hour
0:14:54 > 0:14:56when he hit the bend.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00Driving at such a fast speed not only killed Stewart
0:15:00 > 0:15:03but could have been dangerous for other road users, too.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06And it wasn't just Sarah this tragedy affected.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I didn't tell my daughter till the day after.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Because I had to go and identify him.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15And I sat Katie down
0:15:15 > 0:15:18and I had to tell her straight.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22That's the only way you can tell a child, just to make them understand.
0:15:22 > 0:15:28And I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31I think you need to think before you go out riding.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33The consequences, what can happen.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Because it's the families that are left behind with the devastation.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40And they've got to deal with it.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45The main purpose of this state-of-the-art van
0:15:45 > 0:15:47is to catch people going at such dangerous speeds.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51They risk not only their own lives, but other people's as well.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56When he gets back to the station,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Andy can instantly review his camera footage
0:15:58 > 0:16:00as well as some previous notorious cases.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07This is footage captured on 20 June 2012, which is dangerous riding.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14While he's overtaking, a rider performs a dangerous wheelie
0:16:14 > 0:16:16at 103 miles an hour.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Had this gentleman fallen off this bike or lost control,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23basically we could have had multiple fatalities on that road.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28Not only him, the car driver, the other motorcyclist travelling close by.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33It's completely ridiculous and irresponsible the way he was riding on that road at that time.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37This next young man isn't as fast, but is equally dangerous.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40He stands up on it, takes both hands off
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and puts them right above his head and back down again.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47When I saw that, I just could not believe the actions of that young man.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51How he thought he could be in control of that vehicle at that time, I just do not know.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55The next speed merchant also likes to fly along.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59This footage is the fastest we've recorded by this speed van.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03It's 144 miles an hour on the dual carriageway. It's just not acceptable.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07In fact, he was trying to turn off left down to Squire's cafe bar
0:17:07 > 0:17:09and he missed his exit.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12He then stops further down the road, we zoom in on the reg plate
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and capture all his actions afterwards.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20All these offending bikers were caught by clever technology.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Each were banned for a year or more.
0:17:32 > 0:17:38North Yorkshire police started their safety camera van campaign 18 months ago as a pilot project.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40But after soon proving its worth,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42they quickly acquired two more vans.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45We try and be as overt as possible.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50We tell people where we're going to be. We publish it on all the social media sites.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53"This is where we're going to be. If you choose to speed on that road,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55"unfortunately you may be captured by the vehicle."
0:17:55 > 0:17:58The scheme is making an impact.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Without a doubt, I have noticed personally that speeds are dropping on the roads.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Which can only be a good thing.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Coming up on Caught Red Handed.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13A couple pin down a prowler in their porch
0:18:13 > 0:18:15by using some clever technology.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19And back in Blackburn, Neil gets to grips with the cat burglar
0:18:19 > 0:18:22he spotted breaking into his mother-in-law's house.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Neil grabbed him by the belt, but it was a case of who was going to win.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Internet shopping has seen a huge rise in things being delivered to our homes.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40And often, we're not in when a parcel arrives,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42which is so annoying.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46So, do you get it left on the porch, or round the side of the house?
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Well, you might just think twice after watching this.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02In Sheffield, there is about to be an inadvertent game of pass the parcel
0:19:02 > 0:19:06which unfortunately results in it being passed into the wrong hands.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12These delivery drivers have found that nobody's in to receive this package.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17Maybe deciding to spare the recipient the hassle of arranging a re-delivery,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21the driver opts to put the parcel into one of the recycling bins at the front of the house.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26He then leaves a note to say he's left it there out of sight.
0:19:27 > 0:19:28Or so he thinks.
0:19:28 > 0:19:34The driver's dilemma has already been clocked by these two hooded men walking past.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Knowing that nobody's in, they wait for him to drive off
0:19:39 > 0:19:44then return to fish out the parcel and scarper.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50My guess is they were probably a bit disappointed
0:19:50 > 0:19:54to find it contained a £15 Christmas candle like this one.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58But not as disappointed as the homeowner was not to receive it.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Even though the shopping company replaced the candle,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04this theft really got on his wick.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07He'd previously installed this sophisticated camera system
0:20:07 > 0:20:09after a series of thefts in the area,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12including his ten-year-old daughter's beloved bike.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15He handed this footage over to the police,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19but this dodgy pair of parcel pilferers are still at large.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22So, if you can shed any light on who they are,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24please contact the police.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35From our parcels to our prized possessions,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39thieves will find any way they can to steal stuff from us.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42A small upstairs window can be an open invitation.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45When you look in your garden,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48just actually see what could give a burglar access
0:20:48 > 0:20:50to your house.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52A wheelie bin. Is it next door to the drainpipe?
0:20:52 > 0:20:57A ladder laid at the side of the house. Just think differently.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Don't give potential burglars a quick win.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Don't advertise the fact that you're on holiday on social media
0:21:03 > 0:21:04which may tag you at your home address
0:21:04 > 0:21:08giving burglars an easy location to target. Keep it quiet.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Please, do take the time this weekend
0:21:10 > 0:21:15to go out and look at it from a burglar's perspective.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Back to Blackburn, where we saw how a cat burglar
0:21:23 > 0:21:25had spotted an open upstairs window of a house
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and was scaling a drainpipe to break in.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Well, this is one open invitation this hapless burglar should have declined
0:21:32 > 0:21:35What he hadn't realised was that the house was occupied.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Neil, the owner's son-in-law, is confronting the intruder in the top bedroom.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42He wasn't like a bodybuilder or anything!
0:21:42 > 0:21:44He wasn't a huge intimidating guy.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45He was just sort of average build,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48similar, sort of, to me.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Downstairs, Neil's wife Janet, his young son and mother-in-law
0:21:54 > 0:21:56have shut themselves in a room until the police arrive.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59I was panicked, thinking what's going on?
0:21:59 > 0:22:01We know somebody's up in the bedroom and Neil's with them.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05The burglar makes a dive for the tiny open top window.
0:22:05 > 0:22:11My thought was, "No way. No way are you getting away."
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Neil grabbed him by the belt, but it was a case of who was going to win.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18The intruder kicks out desperately at Neil.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22It was only then I thought, "What am I doing here?
0:22:22 > 0:22:26"My wife, my one-year-old son, mother-in-law,
0:22:26 > 0:22:27"they're all downstairs.
0:22:27 > 0:22:34"Pulling this guy back into the house is probably not such a wise thing to do."
0:22:34 > 0:22:36It was at that point, I kind of thought,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39"Well, if you're really determined
0:22:39 > 0:22:44"that you want to dive head-first out of a first-floor window,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46"be my guest!"
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Whether it's pure desperation or over-confidence,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51the burglar takes the fall.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02He quite quickly got up and ran away.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Neil goes out to see which way the man went.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Janet went out onto the front, screaming for Neil.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11I was just shouting, "Neil, come back!", you know.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16I didn't care. I just wanted Neil back in the house so that he was safe with all of us.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Neil comes back into the lounge, not realising he's been hurt.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23My wife said, "You're bleeding."
0:23:23 > 0:23:27And it was only at that point
0:23:27 > 0:23:31that I became aware that he'd caught me a couple of blows.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37The police arrive with sniffer dogs, but the intruder has got away.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Well, that's what he'd like to think.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44During his fall from the window, he accidentally left something behind.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49He'd lost his hat on the way out the window and it was still sitting there.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52As he hangs out the window upside-down,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54his hat gets shaken off onto the slates.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58He used it to disguise his identity,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01but now it can be used to identify him!
0:24:02 > 0:24:05For the police, a good source of DNA like hair and skin
0:24:05 > 0:24:08can be as good as finding the man's calling card.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11MAN: The most crucial piece of evidence was his hat.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14We fast-tracked that through the forensic system
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and within five days, we identified Stuart Marsden as the offender.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24The man is well-known to the police.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29A career criminal with 67 previous convictions.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Within three hours of being given his name,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36he was in the cells at Blackburn.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41He pleads guilty at the first opportunity, which is taken into account.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45And he's sentenced to 28 months in prison.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52It turns out he hadn't learnt his lesson from a previous robbery in Bolton three years earlier.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56There he had targeted a 76-year-old lady
0:24:56 > 0:25:02and similarly had climbed a drainpipe and got through an open landing window.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04On that occasion, when he was disturbed,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07he'd actually fled the address and when he fell from the window
0:25:07 > 0:25:09he actually broke his pelvis.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14As burglars go, he might seem a bit of a bungler.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17But if Mary had come across the intruder in the house on her own,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20he could have posed a real threat.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25It was lucky that Mary's family were still at the house when he decided to break in.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28If our one-year-old son had been asleep already, we'd have been gone.
0:25:28 > 0:25:34The only reason we were still there was because we were trying to settle him before we left.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37If she'd had gone upstairs on her chair
0:25:37 > 0:25:39and seen this guy, face-to-face,
0:25:39 > 0:25:41I daren't even think about...
0:25:41 > 0:25:46I think it was a miracle, really, that I didn't see him. I really do.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49She's very independent, my mum, and she wants to stay in that house.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51And she should be able to stay in that house.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56So I'm quite angry as well. He needs to reflect on what he's done,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58and what effect this has on vulnerable people.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02If he'd have jumped through that window and killed himself,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05I would never have got over it.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Because he has a family. He has a mother, probably.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11You know, how do they feel?
0:26:11 > 0:26:15So if he lives to be my age, I hope he changes his ways.
0:26:29 > 0:26:36It's late at night, and at first glance, it looks like this man is having a smoke before bed.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39But it's not his house.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43And, going by past events, there's a good chance that's not his cigarette, either!
0:26:45 > 0:26:48The couple who live here kept hearing noises in the night.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51And when they got up to investigate,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54they found things on their front porch had been moved around.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58And packs of cigarettes had gone missing.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02So in a bid to capture this unwanted visitor in the night themselves,
0:27:02 > 0:27:04they cut a hole in a box.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09They buy a small camera and place the box with camera inside
0:27:09 > 0:27:11against a kitchen window to face the front porch.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14And first time out, at 2.00am,
0:27:14 > 0:27:15a result!
0:27:15 > 0:27:18They catch a bloke in a baseball cap sneaking over the fence
0:27:18 > 0:27:21and searching suspiciously around the porch.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Sadly for him, this pack of cigarettes is empty
0:27:27 > 0:27:30and seeing nothing else of interest, he hops back over the fence
0:27:30 > 0:27:33though not before knocking over a rake.
0:27:33 > 0:27:38Believing this is likely to be the man who's been making things go bump in the night
0:27:38 > 0:27:40for the past six weeks,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43the couple put this video on the internet to help identify him.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47It goes viral, and this porch prowler
0:27:47 > 0:27:51is eventually picked out by the public and then picked up by the police.
0:27:52 > 0:27:58He isn't charged, but ever since then, the couple have suffered no more nocturnal nuisance.
0:27:58 > 0:27:59Now, there's a coincidence!
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Join us next time when the police and the public
0:28:05 > 0:28:08catch more culprits red handed!
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd