0:00:02 > 0:00:05Thieves will steal our cars, our valuables,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08just about anything they can get their hands on.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12To cut down on crime and antisocial behaviour,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15police and other agencies are using new tactics
0:00:15 > 0:00:18and technology where the bad guys get caught in the act.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Brilliant footage. Police officers love CCTV.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Local councils, shops and businesses are laying some traps of their own.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28As soon as he walked into the picture I knew who he was.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33And the general public, too, can help unsuspecting crooks get their comeuppance.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- We definitely needed proof.- You're not going to get away with it,
0:00:36 > 0:00:37you might as well pack up.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39It made him swallow his pride, it was brilliant.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43So, anyone who is up to no good had better think twice.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46They might just get caught red-handed.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53Today...
0:00:53 > 0:00:58CCTV cameras show an armed hold-up in a quiet town.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01A violent attack on a lone shop assistant.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04I don't think I've ever seen anybody sob
0:01:04 > 0:01:06the way she was sobbing that morning.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09But a shocking twist to the tale lies hidden
0:01:09 > 0:01:11in the frames of this film.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14Also, today...
0:01:14 > 0:01:17a woman takes a trip back to her hometown
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and finds herself the target of a street robber.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24I never realised I could scream so loudly and for so long.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27But some local heroes rushed to help her.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30I didn't think I had it in me to do that.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34And... This drunk driver's had a lot more than one for the road.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38He's taking a high-speed tour round Bristol's one-way system
0:01:38 > 0:01:40the wrong way.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Alford in Lincolnshire,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56this close-knit town is rocked by news of a violent armed robbery.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59It was a horrific incident.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01In the early hours of the morning
0:02:01 > 0:02:04a shop assistant is threatened by a masked man.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09With a knife held to her throat, she is forced to open the safe
0:02:09 > 0:02:14and is then beaten, bound up and left terrified on the floor.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18She was just distraught, she was hysterical, almost.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Crying, sobbing...
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Police mount a major search for the vicious attacker.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26That day, every detective that was available
0:02:26 > 0:02:28was working purely on that crime.
0:02:28 > 0:02:34It's all been recorded on CCTV, but everything is not quite as it seems.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36After a shocking discovery by the police,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39everything will be called into question
0:02:39 > 0:02:41by a truly extraordinary turn of events.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Sgt Becky Fowler is based at Louth police station in Lincolnshire.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56But recently, she was taken back to her home village of Alford
0:02:56 > 0:03:00where she had to deal with an unusual robbery at this store.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05It was unusual because things don't happen in Alford.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09I actually grew up in the village and it's a very small market town,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11everybody knows everybody else.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14So, to have something of this level of violence
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and seriousness was very unusual.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21It's 5:30am on a Sunday morning in January.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26Whilst most are in bed, 16-year-old Jessica is off to do her paper round
0:03:26 > 0:03:27at a nearby shop.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30She gets a lift in from her mum, Tracy.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34I always drive her in because we live five miles outside of Alford
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and I go in and I help her with filling the papers.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43That morning, council CCTV cameras shows Tracy and Jessica arriving
0:03:43 > 0:03:45outside the shop, as usual.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48But today, the pair noticed something's different.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Normally, we would walk up t'door and have to tap on the door
0:03:51 > 0:03:53for somebody to come and let us into the store,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57but that morning, the actual front door was off the latch.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01- So, we walked straight in... - And straight into a shocking scene.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05One of the regular shop assistants is hunched over a table.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09She was just distraught, she was hysterical, almost.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11Crying, sobbing...
0:04:11 > 0:04:17and then I recognised that she'd got tag ties round both her wrists.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19She couldn't tell me what had happened.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22I'm a nurse and we deal with death and bereavement
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and I don't think I've ever seen anybody sob
0:04:25 > 0:04:29the way she was sobbing that morning. It was heartbreaking.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Jessica goes to get a chair for the woman.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34And when she sat down, we realised she'd got tag ties
0:04:34 > 0:04:35round her legs, as well.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38And when Jessica came back out of the office, she said to me,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41she said, "The office is an absolute mess, Mam."
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Tracy dials 999. The shop assistant can be heard sobbing
0:04:45 > 0:04:47in the background.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00She looked like she was in pain
0:05:00 > 0:05:03and she'd got bruising down the side of her head,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07which looked like either somebody had thumped her or kicked her.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Thank God I go with my daughter, is what I felt,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28because she was 16 and to have walked into that on her own,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31I don't know how she would have coped with it.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33If we'd have been five minutes earlier,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35we both could have been involved in it.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01You know, for the last year, we'd seen that lady on regular occasions.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05So, to find her like that was quite distressing, really.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10The shop assistant is taken to hospital for a check over.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14On duty that morning, Becky launches the police investigation.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Although it's a small town, we have town CCTV in Alford.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23- We immediately start reviewing CCTV. - And this is what they see.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29At 5:20am, the man in light trousers cycles up past the store,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31then disappears off-camera.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Less than a minute later, the woman shop assistant's car
0:06:36 > 0:06:38approaches the shop.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Parking nearby, she gets out and goes to unlock the door.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47The hooded man in light trousers creeps up behind her, he pounces.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52The shop CCTV shows him holding a knife to her throat,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54demanding to be let in.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Even though the woman is not left badly hurt after this incident,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02the images on the store's CCTV are distressing to watch.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Bundled in, the intruder marches her through to the back office.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Heading straight to the safe, she unlocks it
0:07:11 > 0:07:13and shows him the contents.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18He put the knife down on the counter, then hauls her away...
0:07:19 > 0:07:22with a flurry of kicks and punches.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26The masked robber binds her hands with a cable tie...
0:07:27 > 0:07:29and then her feet.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35He starts bundling the banknotes from the safe into his rucksack,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39followed by a box stuffed with bags of coins.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42The woman won't stop struggling.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47When she tries to get to her feet, we see him kick her backwards...
0:07:47 > 0:07:49and set upon her again.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Then he goes back into the shop to start rifling the cigarette shelves.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Finally, the robber comes back to take his knife before leaving
0:07:59 > 0:08:03with over £3,000 in cash and many packets of cigarettes.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07After he's gone, the assistant eventually wriggles her way
0:08:07 > 0:08:11into another room, where she's found by Tracy and Jessica.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14It was not nice, not nice to find her like that.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18For something like that to have happened in Alford is not normal.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22You know, it's not the kind of thing you expect in a town like that.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Even the police are shocked.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29It was a horrific incident.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33It's so rare in... anywhere in Lincolnshire, really.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36and so there is that pressure that we've got to protect the public
0:08:36 > 0:08:41and we need to deal with this swiftly and find out who's done it.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45We would hate for this to happen again anywhere else.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Police haul in a suspect for questioning
0:08:51 > 0:08:54and discover there's a bizarre twist to this case
0:08:54 > 0:08:56that's worthy of a TV crime drama.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08I've never been so gobsmacked in an interview.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Also coming up... Follow that car.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17A drunk driver tears around Bristol city centre,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20while camera operators try to keep him in their sights,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23so police can put the brakes on.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Handbags are a prime target for thieves
0:09:33 > 0:09:36because they can be stolen in seconds.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39And for Jo, that means a trip down memory lane
0:09:39 > 0:09:42will be one she never forgets.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Preston, Lancashire.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54A woman is out on a nostalgic stroll back in her old home town.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57But her trip back in time turns to terror
0:09:57 > 0:10:00when she gets some unwelcome company.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03I didn't realise at the time that he was sizing up victims,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05but apparently he was.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11A CCTV camera catches the moment the man launches a ruthless attack.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I never realised I could scream so loudly.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18He's after her bag, but she's not giving up without a fight.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20He's not having it, he's not having it.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24But help is on the way from some brave townspeople.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25You have to intervene.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Right, we going to get this guy, you know,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30this is wrong and he's going to have to pay for it.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39The city of Preston, Lancashire, has been around since Roman times.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43The city has a proud history
0:10:43 > 0:10:47and it plays an important part in Jo's own personal history, too.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51She considers Preston to be her hometown
0:10:51 > 0:10:54having spent a great deal of her childhood there.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59She revisited it recently to research her family tree.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I'd been to the Lancashire archives that morning
0:11:01 > 0:11:05and I had a little bit of time before I was going to the cemetery.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09So, I took a little tour around the old buildings where my church was
0:11:09 > 0:11:11that I used to go to when I was a child.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14I was christened in there and my mum and dad were married there.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18It must have been, maybe, 55 years since I'd been there.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Maybe she should have left it a little bit longer.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Jo's day is about to take a dramatic turn,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29as it will for two to other people in Preston that day.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32George, who is working, as usual in an electrical store...
0:11:32 > 0:11:36I went in to the yard at the rear of the building with a customer
0:11:36 > 0:11:38to check some equipment...
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and teacher, Damian, who's out with his girlfriend, Nikki.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I was just walking into town to meet friends and it was a nice day,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48so, I just thought we'll have a walk into the city centre.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52But this pleasant Preston afternoon starts to go wrong
0:11:52 > 0:11:55when Jo pays a visit to her old church.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I was just walking around these buildings
0:11:57 > 0:11:59enjoying a bit of nostalgia...
0:11:59 > 0:12:02What happens next is captured by surveillance cameras
0:12:02 > 0:12:05on the outside of George's electrical store.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Here's Jo walking past the church.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14A man starts to walk closely behind her, uncomfortably close.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17She instinctively steps out to let him go past.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21I didn't realise at the time that he was sizing up victims,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24he was just a man in the street that I passed.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27She takes a detour to look down a side road.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32The man carries on up the street, but stops and loiters around
0:12:32 > 0:12:34before disappearing from view.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38In the meantime, Jo gets back onto the main street again
0:12:38 > 0:12:42and walks past the entrance to George's electrical store.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48While Jo pauses to study her surroundings the man reappears.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50This time Jo hasn't seen him.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Then, just before they go out of camera shot,
0:12:53 > 0:12:54he suddenly makes a grab at her,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59dragging her into the road, attempting to rip her bag away.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03The first I knew of it, I felt his hands around my neck and shoulders
0:13:03 > 0:13:05and he just pulled me to the ground.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10I came down with and a bang and he was dragging me along
0:13:10 > 0:13:12and scraped my elbow.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15The mugger's picked his victim, but he's picked the wrong one.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20I'm holding on to my bag and he's pulling for all he's worth
0:13:20 > 0:13:23and I'm saying to myself, "He's not having it, he's not having it,"
0:13:23 > 0:13:26all the time I was screaming my head off.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30I never realised I could scream so loudly and for so long.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Meanwhile, Damian's walking nearby with his girlfriend.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36I could hear some screaming, there was a lady struggling
0:13:36 > 0:13:38to keep her handbag.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41George and a customer he's serving also hear Jo.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45The moment I actually heard the scream it was quite frightening,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49it was almost like a "someone's coming to kill me" scream.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and we went out towards the gate to check.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55All this time, Jo is locked in a terrifying tug-of-war
0:13:55 > 0:13:57with her attacker.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02His grip on my handbag lessened and he ran away.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06That's because the mugger has seen that Damien is coming after him.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08You have to intervene.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11George and Damien are in hot pursuit.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13He told me what had happened.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Right, we're going to get this guy, you know, this is wrong.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19While the two men joined forces to chase the mugger,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Damien's girlfriend, Nikki, goes to comfort Jo.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25A young lady came to help me up off the ground
0:14:25 > 0:14:27and to retrieve my possessions,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29which were scattered all over the place.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32The robber has now legged it down this side road,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34but Damien and George are hot on his heels.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I didn't think I could run as fast as I could
0:14:37 > 0:14:39and I'm not terribly fit person.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41I didn't think I had it in me to do that.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44The mugger runs into a residential area.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47This is where me and the other gentlemen split up,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49he went left, I went right.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I had no idea what was going to happen.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55I just thought, "If I could catch up with him
0:14:55 > 0:14:59and try and sort of pen him in somewhere..."
0:14:59 > 0:15:01And that's exactly what happens.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Running into a cul-de-sac, the thief finds himself fenced in.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07he couldn't get any further, so he just stopped here
0:15:07 > 0:15:10and this is where I caught up for him and the other colleague
0:15:10 > 0:15:13came from the other side of the buildings here.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- He couldn't get away.- I approached him and I thought,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19"What am I doing?" and then just grabbed him by the arm.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24- And he didn't react.- He just came quietly, basically.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27The police arrived to take over and when they searched the man
0:15:27 > 0:15:30they make a chilling discovery.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33It turns out he had a Stanley knife in his pocket.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37So, I was mightily relieved that he hadn't used it.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Until now, Jo hasn't seen the footage leading up to her attack.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43He's behind me.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Oh, my God. Oh, he's so close.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Look, he drags me off the pavement onto the road.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56It's shorter than I expected, it seemed like an eternity.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Really creepy.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07When 38-year-old Stephen O'Connor appears in court
0:16:07 > 0:16:11he pleads guilty to possession of a weapon and attempted robbery.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13He's jailed for three years.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21For their efforts in helping Jo - George, David, and Nikki
0:16:21 > 0:16:25are presented with certificates of bravery by Lancashire Constabulary.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29I don't feel like I've performed any, sort of, brave heroic act,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32I just feel like I've done what anybody ought to do,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35it's the right thing to do in that situation.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38I came across a very bad person,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41but there must have been six, eight, nine, ten people
0:16:41 > 0:16:46who were very good to me. So, I have to put that in the balance.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50She was a very feisty lady, I think she would put up
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- a really good fight with anybody. - She's probably the bravest
0:16:53 > 0:16:55out of the lot of us on the day.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58She's had a bad experience visiting her old haunts,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00but Jo's not going to let it haunt her.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03I've been back to the old school building since
0:17:03 > 0:17:05and it hasn't upset me at all.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08He didn't win that day and he chose the wrong person.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17It's great that Damien and George came to Jo's aid,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19but if we ever found ourselves in her situation,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21what's the best thing to do?
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Please don't hang onto your bag, you know.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26I know there is stuff in there that's important to you and valuable
0:17:26 > 0:17:30and it's a real inconvenience, but your safety has to come first.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34The more confident you are, the less likely you are to be attacked.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37If someone tries to engage you in conversation, asks for the time,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40asks for a light, it's always best to ignore them, walk confidently past.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Take yourself to a location where you feel safe,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45where there are lots of people, it's well lit.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49If you get a sense that there's somebody there that is paying too much attention to you,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51have a look back, have a look at them.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54That will put them off, because they don't want to be recognised.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57In the unfortunate event that an attack does take place,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01the best thing that you can do is to alert other people,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05perhaps a scream or a shout, so that other people can come to your aid.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Road safety now and the ever watchful eyes
0:18:11 > 0:18:14of city's CCTV operators.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17When they join forces with police patrols,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20they can not only catch criminals but dangerous drivers too.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30It's just after midnight and CCTV camera operators in Bristol
0:18:30 > 0:18:34noticed this silver Audi being driven erratically.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38They alert police and track its journey
0:18:38 > 0:18:40and not a moment too soon.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Confused by the road layout, the driver turns a one-way street
0:18:44 > 0:18:46into a wrong-way street.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51Thankfully, avoiding any collisions, he then pulls into a cul-de-sac.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Perhaps he's made an honest mistake and now he's come to his senses.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Well, maybe not.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00As he speeds back out into the city centre
0:19:00 > 0:19:03it looks like he's actually choosing to drive
0:19:03 > 0:19:05against the flow of traffic.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10He clips a taxi and the cab driver stops in shock.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12The Audi's not stopping though.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16It continues its reckless route round Bristol's one-way system
0:19:16 > 0:19:19in the wrong direction. Can't he see the road arrows?
0:19:19 > 0:19:21The camera operators direct police
0:19:21 > 0:19:24and a patrol car is soon on its tail.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28But the Audi keeps going almost causing a head-on collision.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32That was a close call.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Thankfully, this demolition derby ends before someone gets hurt.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The driver abandons his vehicle in the road and makes a run for it.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44A police officer and rugby tackles the man to the ground. Game over.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49This dangerous driver was well over the legal alcohol limit.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Frighteningly, he had been planning to drive all the way home
0:19:52 > 0:19:56to Salisbury, an hour and a half away.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Instead, he took a trip to court
0:19:58 > 0:20:00and received a 12 month suspended jail sentence
0:20:00 > 0:20:04and disqualified from driving for three years.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Now, you'd think once the police had a confession from somebody
0:20:12 > 0:20:15that it'd be it. An open and shut case.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19But sometimes there's a little more to a story than meets the eye.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Earlier, we saw the CCTV footage of a terrifying armed robbery
0:20:29 > 0:20:32in the small town of Alford, Lincolnshire.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34With a knife to her throat,
0:20:34 > 0:20:38we see a shop assistant forced to open the safe
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and then beaten and bound by the masked robber.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45After he's gone, the shop assistant is found by a young paper girl, Jessica
0:20:45 > 0:20:47and her mum, Tracy.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50I don't think I've ever seen anybody sob
0:20:50 > 0:20:53the way she was sobbing that morning.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55The shop assistant is taken to hospital
0:20:55 > 0:20:58and, fortunately, only has bruising after her ordeal.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Sgt Becky Fowler is in charge of the Lincolnshire police investigation.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08That level of violence, we don't see anything like that.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12That day every detective that was available was working
0:21:12 > 0:21:14purely on that crime.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17This case is soon to prove one of the most unusual Becky
0:21:17 > 0:21:22is ever likely to see, but at the moment there's not much to go on.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26The shop assistant thought that the male spoke with a foreign accent,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29but other than that, she couldn't give us any description at all
0:21:29 > 0:21:31of what he looked like.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35The shop assistant mentions that the robber also stole her phone.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38This prompts Becky to check with the phone company
0:21:38 > 0:21:40to see if it's been used since.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Because of the seriousness of the offence,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44the phone work was done as an urgent enquiry.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47And this police phone technology is about to be the key
0:21:47 > 0:21:50that turns this whole case upside down.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52The phone hasn't been used since the robbery,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56but what catches Becky's eye is that it was used by the shop assistant
0:21:56 > 0:21:58just before the attack.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02We could see that two phone calls had been made.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04From accessing our police systems,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07we were able to identify who that number belonged to.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10It's the phone number of a man who's known to the police.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14And that then became our prime suspect for the robbery
0:22:14 > 0:22:18was that it was actually somebody that she knew.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21They wonder why the shop assistant is calling this man
0:22:21 > 0:22:23so early on a Sunday morning.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25He comes in on the cycle,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29the time's 05:19.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32The shop assistant's not due at work until six o'clock in the morning.
0:22:32 > 0:22:3640 minutes early that day and we thought that was odd.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Becky and her colleague closely review the CCTV footage.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44She comes in, she immediately puts in the alarm code
0:22:44 > 0:22:48making it easier for the robber and she turns on the lights
0:22:48 > 0:22:51without a moment's hesitation.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Could be fear or she was aware of what was going on.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Again, she goes straight to the safe, there's no hesitation,
0:22:58 > 0:23:00there's no panic.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Straight to the right key, even. She's not fumbling with the keys
0:23:03 > 0:23:07and also, as we can see, the offender puts the knife down.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Again, that wouldn't be what you would expect
0:23:11 > 0:23:15someone that's robbing a shop to put their weapon down.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Under stress, people can react strangely,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22but in frame by frame analysis, the woman's actions are increasingly puzzling.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26He's putting the cable ties on, she's kicking her legs around
0:23:26 > 0:23:30and then almost holds them still at the point he puts the ties on.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35She's compliant for him, but then after she's been restrained
0:23:35 > 0:23:37she starts kicking out again.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Police also find it hard it odd that this appears to be
0:23:40 > 0:23:43the longest smash and grab raid ever.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Most people committing crime, they do it as quickly as they can.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48He's in the shop for 20 minutes.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Wasting no time, they arrest the male suspect and interview him.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55What happens next takes them by surprise.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00The opening of his interview says it all, really.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26I've never been so gobsmacked in an interview before.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Erm... They say we should always prepare for a "no comment" interview,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32but to prepare for someone admitting to a robbery
0:24:32 > 0:24:36and then to say that it wasn't quite as it seems,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38it was a big surprise.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And the surprises keep coming.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44After shopping the shop assistant, the man shows them numbers
0:24:44 > 0:24:47written on his hands, he says the woman had given him.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50The manager of the shop confirmed that they were the correct
0:24:50 > 0:24:54alarm codes for all of the different doors in the newsagents.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57The man also tells them where the stolen money
0:24:57 > 0:24:58and cigarettes are stashed.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02As well as another piece of paper on which he's written the codes down.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05So, at that point the interview ended
0:25:05 > 0:25:07so that we could recover all that stolen property.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10At the same time, they arrest the shop assistant,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13but she denies faking the robbery.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22She claims, although she is known the man for years,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24he's acted alone and hidden his identity.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Could she be innocent after all?
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It was difficult, because in the back of your mind
0:25:46 > 0:25:48there is always that thought of, "Is she an offender?
0:25:48 > 0:25:51"Did she know what was happening? Or, is she a genuine victim?"
0:25:51 > 0:25:53The bruises were real,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56but the male suspect says this was all part of the shop assistant's
0:25:56 > 0:25:59cunning plan to make the raid look convincing.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Becky delves deeper into the pair's phone records
0:26:13 > 0:26:16and finds a flurry of exchanged calls
0:26:16 > 0:26:19in the weeks leading up to the incident.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Both are charged, yet the woman continues to protest her innocence.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Just crying, just claiming that she was a victim.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30But on day one of her trial she changes her plea to guilty.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34I felt quite, quite angry towards her
0:26:34 > 0:26:38in that, erm... that she almost spoilt the town
0:26:38 > 0:26:40and there must have been that doubt,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43was it that the police had got it wrong and actually she was a victim?
0:26:43 > 0:26:47And so it must have left people quite confused until the trial.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51In the end, many local residents feel betrayed,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53including Tracy and her daughter Jessica
0:26:53 > 0:26:56who found the apparently distraught victim.
0:26:56 > 0:27:02I was shocked, actually, that she could have done something like that
0:27:02 > 0:27:06knowing that we would find her and to have put myself and my daughter
0:27:06 > 0:27:08in that position, you know.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11And then to find out that actually it hadn't been real
0:27:11 > 0:27:14was like a kick in the guts.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16But the pair haven't got away with it.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23In court, the would-be robber is sentenced to four months in prison,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25suspended for two years.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30While the would-be victim, the shop assistant,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33gets eight months for conspiracy to steal
0:27:33 > 0:27:35and intending to pervert the course of justice,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38also suspended for two years.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Unsurprisingly, she also lost her job.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Becky and her colleagues got to the truth of the matter quickly.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Quite early on we knew it wasn't quite as everything seemed.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55So, to go with that instinct that there was something not quite right
0:27:55 > 0:28:00about it and be proved right, it makes you very proud.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04But things are back to normal now and all is well in Alford.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08The community couldn't understand why one of their own
0:28:08 > 0:28:11would even want to do that, or two of their own
0:28:11 > 0:28:15because they were both from the town. You know, what had they gained?
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Because they didn't gain anything in the end.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25That's it for today. Join us next time when the police
0:28:25 > 0:28:29and the public catch more criminals red-handed.