Episode 9 Neighbourhood Blues

Policing in the 21st century has come full circle.

Good evening, all.

The old, romantic notion of the bobby on the beat -

like Sergeant George Dixon 50 years ago -

is very much back in favour.

A new caring force is being created, that works in collaboration

with the community it serves, called the neighbourhood policing team.

You're under arrest, OK, for assault.

Now, the teams are in every local area of the country...

Get him! We've got a runner!

..cracking down on anti-social behaviour...

-Stay here!

-Ow! Argh!

-I've had enough.

-..busting suspected drug dens...

-SHOUTING

There's a very, very large grove in this room. Jackpot.

..and laying down the law to crooks and criminals.

-Do as you're told!

-I wasn't even

-BLEEP

-driving it!

In this new series of Neighbourhood Blues,

-we're following the men and women from the Humberside Police Force...

-You're under arrest.

I'm arresting you for being in possession of a controlled substance.

..as they strive to make our streets a safer place.

Hands behind your back for me, now.

Coming up... A drunk driver gets taken down...

-Stop resisting me.

-You

-BLEEP !

-..the neighbourhood team raid a suspected drug dealer...

-Police!

-How much cash is there, do you think?

-Oof!

I just need to tell you that you're under arrest, all right?

..and a historic landmark bites the dust.

Drink-driving is a problem that can have major repercussions for a community.

Last year, there were nearly 7,000 accidents on Britain's roads

involving excess alcohol and after many years declining,

deaths caused by drivers who'd been drinking soared by a massive 25%.

Whilst the neighbourhood policing teams don't normally find

themselves dealing with drink-drivers,

they are sometimes thrust,

unintentionally, onto the front line.

It's 10pm and PC Jamie Campbell is on his way to assist

two of his colleagues who are involved in a foot chase

with a suspected drink-driver.

One of our PCSOs in the city centre has just shouted up

on the radio to say there has been a road-traffic accident

further down the road and the male driver has got out

and made off. So, we are going to try and see if we can get him stopped.

Jamie races to the scene to help his colleagues but as he arrives,

the pair appear to be on top of the situation - quite literally.

Hands behind your back for me, now. Do as you're told.

It isn't me.

-Drunk.

-Roll over for me.

Roll over for me.

It's fairly clear that the man has been drinking

-but he is denying he has been driving a car.

-Let's roll him over.

-Watch his head.

-Careful. On my head, son.

-What's your name, there?

-Too far, this male is well in drink.

Can you find out if the keys are still in the vehicle?

No. He did have some keys when he was running.

-I didn't have no keys.

-You did. I saw them.

-I wasn't even

-BLEEP

-driving it. It was someone else.

-Jamie. Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-It wasn't

-BLEEP

-me.

Although he says he doesn't have any keys, Jamie soon finds some on him.

It weren't even me.

I only have my house keys...car keys and whatever else.

-Yes, yes.

-Has he got a set of car keys?

-He's got a set of four keys.

-What is it?

-Ford Escort, isn't it?

Do you want to take the keys and make sure they fit?

He's be detained by PCSO prior to our arrival.

She's chased him from the car that's collided

just further down the street.

He's clearly the driver and he's drunk. Quite clearly drunk.

Lift your head, son.

Now, Jamie has to prove that he was driving the crashed van.

We've got a set of car keys which he's got in his pocket, amongst other keys.

So, I'm just going to confirm whether those are the same vehicle keys.

If the keys fit the ignition,

they'll have the driver bang to rights.

I've got the vehicle keys.

I'm just going to check it, see what we've got.

The van has done some serious damage.

It's mounted a kerb and hit the lights at a pedestrian crossing.

But the ignition is not broken

so Jamie can try out the keys to see if they're the right ones.

Proven when he turns on the headlights.

So, we've just come down to this vehicle, which is the one

he ran away from, just to confirm the keys match the car, which they do.

And as you can see from the destruction left behind him,

he's made quite a mess.

As well as the damage to the bodywork,

it looks like the driver's head has hit and smashed the windscreen.

The PCSOs who caught the driver were out on routine patrol

but happened to be at the right place at the right time...

after a bit of running.

Come in just past the roundabout and we heard a big bang.

A smash like a car accident.

We came running round the corner, saw this vehicle as it is now

and a male running from the scene, right towards us.

I asked him to stop, he refused.

So, I gave chase and when I caught him, I caught him in the street.

Not something we normally come across...

but it's nice to get a bit of excitement every now and again.

Now and again, yeah.

The drunk-driver is facing a ban and a fine

but he's lucky it's not more serious.

We saw the result of the post - that's been flattened.

Unfortunately, if someone had been in front of that van,

he would have been in custody for causing death by dangerous driving.

Back at the station,

the extent of the man's drunkenness is even clearer to see.

Do you have any injuries or medical conditions?

Asthma, diabetes, epilepsy?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Yeah? Which one?

-All of them.

-All of them.

I think you're fibbing.

Personally.

And he's not proving to be the most cooperative of prisoners.

Do you agree to provide two specimens of breath for analysis?

-No.

-Can I ask you a question?

-Do you agree to provide two samples of breath?

-No, I don't.

-No, you don't.

-I were drinking...

The man's obstructive behaviour gets worse.

Come on.

-Come on, John. John.

-Don't resist.

Don't tense up, mate.

As he is taken to his cell,

trying to break free from the two officers.

-BLEEP!

-Stop resisting me.

-Stop resisting me.

-SHOUTING

BLEEP!

He is making things as difficult as possible for himself.

Right. Come on, then. Let's have you up. Kneel up. One, two, three.

Up you come. Good lad, come on.

And it doesn't end there.

Even once he is in the cell, the man continues to cause problems.

Roll over and do as you're told.

He was later found guilty of failing to provide a specimen

and was banned from driving for three years,

given 100 hours' community service and fined £140.

It's early morning in Cleethorpes

and the neighbourhood team are preparing to raid a house

where they believe cannabis is being grown and sold.

In charge today is Sergeant Colin Jarrett.

We're going to be executing a warrant under the Misuse Of Drugs Act this morning.

It's going to be in relation to cannabis plants

that we are aware of at this time.

However, there is the potential there could be other drugs there,

Class As or Bs.

Joining the neighbourhood team this morning

are members of the operational support section,

many of whom work undercover, so we can't reveal their identities.

They have the tools to put the door in if it's needed.

If the door is not insecure then we can look at forcing entry

to get the element of surprise so they can't discard

and dispose of any evidence prior to us getting in there.

The house has a history of criminal behaviour,

but Colin doesn't know who or what is inside today

so he isn't taking any chances.

No movement. No response.

As no-one is opening the door,

the OSS take the do-it-yourself approach.

LOUD BANGING

Police!

The early-morning wake-up call has worked

as all the occupants are all still in bed.

Is this your place?

Do you own it?

-No, we rent it.

-You rent it, do you? OK.

We're from the local policing team.

We've got a warrant to search these premises

under the Misuse Of Drugs Act, OK?

We suspect that there might be a controlled drug being grown here.

-Right. That's fine. There was a problem here before.

-Is there?

-No!

-There is nothing in here at all?

-No!

We are going to do a search anyway.

There's four occupants in there.

They have all been secured

so now we are just going to get our equipment together

and we will go in and start searching.

There are three women and a man in the house.

Colin and his team are looking for evidence

of drug-growing and dealing.

We will be looking for mobile phones,

any evidence of supplying

and basically anything that could be linked to

and assist us with our investigation.

Take your slippers off!

It was a bit sexy until you told him off for doing it, to be honest!

-How long have you all lived here?

-Since October.

-Right.

Upstairs, in the bedroom where the man and one of the women were sleeping,

PC Andy Oliver has found something.

Some white powder and a load of cash.

Oof!

It's like crystals.

Yeah. Uncut.

It is possibly uncut but to be honest with you,

given the amount you have got there coupled with money...

And with small bags underneath, as you can see,

and a spoon and a small set of scales in it.

They suspect the powder is MCAT, otherwise known as mephedrone.

It became popular as a natural high

but was made illegal a few years ago.

The plan now is that they are all going to be arrested

on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance,

because it's in here but it's more or less a shared house.

There are no locks on the doors and everyone seems to have free access

so they are all going to have to come in and be spoken about it.

And then we're off to see what the substance is.

Time to give the house's occupants the good news.

I just need to tell you all that you are all under arrest on suspicion

of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to supply.

You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do

not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court.

-Basically, you are all under arrest now.

-Why? What have we you found?

I just need to tell you that you are under arrest on suspicion

of possession of a controlled substance with intent to supply.

It is potentially a big find

and coupled with the large amount of money

and a set of digital scales,

it suggests that the drugs are being sold

rather than just for personal use.

Scenes-of-crime officers take photos

while another member of the team has found a bag which looks to contain

some other drugs belonging to the man.

Testosterone Enanthate.

He did openly admit that he is a steroid user...

..and there was also syringes found.

And he did state that he does inject steroids into his body.

Possessing steroids isn't illegal if they are for personal use,

but selling them is an offence.

Have you ever tried to hurt yourself in any way or commit suicide?

Back at the police station, the man is in custody, being processed.

If we find out that he is the one in possession and it's his money,

then he will be going to court

and hopefully receive a harsher sentence.

No further action was taken against the three women.

The man is currently on bail, awaiting further investigation.

The team went into the house looking for cannabis and although they

didn't find any, it's nevertheless been a very successful operation.

We didn't find what we expected to find, but things work out like that.

Lucky for us, unlucky for them.

It was a success,

it sends out a message to the neighbourhood that we are active,

and drugs, whether it be Class A or B,

won't be tolerated on the streets of East Marsh.

And we will go out

and we will get the warrants from the magistrates' courts

and if necessary, the doors will go in and we will conduct the searches.

Vandalism and criminal damage can easily be dismissed

as not being that important,

but the neighbourhood teams are well aware that they are crimes

that can have a huge impact on the quality of people's lives,

and if not dealt with quickly and effectively

can increase people's fear of crime.

Cracking down on yobs and vandals who cause people such misery

is a major priority for the police.

It's early evening in Grimsby,

and PC Andy Oliver and Special Constable Mikael Allen

have been called to provide backup

for one of their colleagues who's just arrested a 15-year-old.

We're just going to assist one of the PCSOs. He's got a male detained

and he's not very happy at the minute.

He's well in drink as well, from what I heard.

The youth who's been stopped is believed to be

part of a drunken group who'd vandalised a shop.

Are you all right, mate?

The incident, which was captured on CCTV,

started with the youth wearing a red jacket kicking over a sign.

As the shopkeeper comes out to retrieve his sign,

he's confronted by a girl.

The girl then becomes aggressive,

shouting racial abuse at the shopkeeper.

And as he tries to walk away she pushes him in the back.

Before throwing the sign back into the road.

Off-camera, she smashes the shop window before heading off

with a gang of youths, including the lad who initially damaged the sign.

They have one person arrested, but need to find the others,

and two lads have been seen running off into a nearby industrial estate.

That's received, thank you.

Have a look in here and see what we can see.

Once on the estate, they still can't spot the gang.

Andy thinks they may be hiding in a builders' yard

behind one of the main buildings.

Nothing in there.

With no-one there, they head round to the front of the building.

How the hell can we get up here?

As there's no-one on the ground,

Andy suspects they're hiding one of the roofs.

But there's still no-one to be seen.

It seems that the gang have vanished into thin air.

Find out later if Andy catches up with the teenage tearaways.

Neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time

on the beat dealing with members of the public.

And while most of those dealings are positive,

sometimes officers get to see the worst sides of human behaviour.

I think society in general expects a lot from the police.

I think with the cuts that there's been in police numbers,

I think they have an unenviable task.

Some people say they're the police and they're paid to take abuse.

No, they're not! They're in the community as well.

They're not a different species.

They wear a uniform and they're paid to look after the community.

I think it's a really hard job and I think it's very thankless as well,

but from my experience they're really good, yeah.

It's a sunny Saturday afternoon in Grimsby

and PCs Chris McVeigh and Andy Oliver

are on their way to a dispute between neighbours

about an alleged dog attack.

There've been some issues over some...

..problems with a dog escaping from a back garden...

..and attacking another dog.

Three Staffordshire bull terriers have apparently

broken through a fence and bitten a German shepherd, but now it

sounds like the dog-owners are getting into a fight of their own.

We just had a call to say that there is a further incident,

a disturbance outside one of the addresses.

They first visit the house of the man whose German shepherd

was allegedly attacked,

but before Chris and Andy can find out any details

the other dog-owner involved in the dispute

comes to pay her neighbour a visit.

Just to let you know he's the person who's the owner

next door to the dog. Come on, then! Oi! Get out here!

The best move now is to keep the woman away from the house

-and calm her down.

-SUSTAINED BLEEPING

-Get him out here, then! You want to make a

-BLEEP

-scene!

-Make sure this is

-BLEEP

-cos I'm not being shown on this

-BLEEP.

No matter how angry she is,

she can't use language like this in public.

-SUSTAINED BLEEPING

-Get him out here, then! No!

If you start swearing, you'll get locked up!

You are not coming in my house!

-Hey! I said

-BLEEP.

You're under arrest, Section 5, Public Order Act.

Chris and Andy can smell alcohol on the woman's breath.

She is being taken in but they need a van to take her to the cells,

because of how she is behaving.

-You

-BLEEP.

-Up against the wall, shall we?

-I think so.

-Since when could you

-BLEEP. Could you curb your language?

-No, I will not! Am I swearing?!

-There are children in the street.

There's witnesses across the road! Am I swearing?

-Am I saying any swear words?

-MAN: No.

SUSTAINED BLEEPING

-You did there!

-You did there!

SUSTAINED BLEEPING

The arrival of a police van doesn't change things much.

Now, it's the turn of Andy and Chris's colleagues

to feel the full force of the woman's foul mouth.

SUSTAINED BLEEPING

Hurry up!

-Oh, yeah!

-SUSTAINED BLEEPING

Hurry up, then!

-In we go.

-Thank you.

-Sit down.

-Thank you.

'Apparently, that lady's been arrested as the owner of the dogs.'

She's gone round to the other address

remonstrating that they've called the police,

but she's in a little bit of drink.

I've arrested her for a public order offence anyway.

We can't let her stay here tonight once she's in drink.

She's so fired up... you don't know what might happen.

Hopefully, a ride in the back of a police van will calm the woman down.

But it doesn't seem to have had the desired effect.

-Let me out!

-SUSTAINED BLEEPING

Step.

SUSTAINED BLEEPING

What do you do? SUSTAINED BLEEPING

-I did my A-levels! Four years

-BLEEP.

-All right?!

-Just asking!

-Yeah!

-I'm not

-BLEEP!

I never said you were. I was just asking.

-I'm not being taken for no

-BLEEP.

-I did not do

-BLEEP.

-That is why I'm so

-BLEEP

-angry!

-Get me in that

-BLEEP

-cell!

-I'll be home in a couple of hours and I'm going to

-BLEEP

-that woman!

I'm off out of here!

The dispute about her dogs has long been forgotten

and the woman is facing being charged for a public order offence.

Not that she seems too bothered.

OK, I can only do that if you speak to us reasonably.

-I'll just sit in my cell then!

-SUSTAINED BLEEPING

No! You're not here to save me!

SHOUTING AND BLEEPING CONTINUES

Can you take her down to the cell and make sure she's strip-searched?

I'll speak to you when you've calmed down.

Even for an experienced officer like Chris, it's been a difficult arrest.

The amount of abuse she was giving

over such a short period of time was quite a lot.

You get used to the odd word now and again,

but she was quite over the top, yeah.

But, yeah, thick-skinned.

After spending the night in the cells, the woman pleaded guilty

to drunk and disorderly behaviour and was fined £80 plus costs.

The neighbourhood team are on the lookout for a group of youths

who had vandalised a shop and abused its owner.

One lad, who damaged a sign, has already been arrested,

but the others are still at large.

How the hell can we get up here?

They've followed them to an industrial estate,

but can't locate them.

Andy Oliver finally spots two lads on top of a nearby building

-and radios for assistance.

-It's on Flower Square.

Can we get an MOE team down here as quick as we can?

It's all padlocked up.

While Andy he waits for a team to force entry to the front

of the building, at the back, other officers have made a discovery.

He's got a cut on his head?

-Where is he?

-He's inside.

He's fallen, but I don't think he's fallen all the way through the floor.

One of the youths has fallen through the roof

and could be seriously hurt.

His friend is letting the officers know what's happening.

Who's up on the roof talking to us?

INDISTINCT REPLY And who's fallen?

Don't know.

-Is he talking, moving?

-He's got a cut on his head.

As they can't get in through the locked front door,

the only way is up -

thankfully, a mechanic from a nearby garage has a ladder.

Meanwhile, officers have managed to force open the back door

to get to the injured youth.

But he isn't too badly hurt

and has managed to climb back onto the roof.

The youth, wearing the blue and white top,

has had a lucky escape -

he's fallen ten feet onto a mezzanine floor

and has got away with just a broken wrist.

The mechanic who'd brought the ladder is keeping him company.

The police are soon joined

by their colleagues from the other emergency services

to get the lads to safety.

Once they get the medical all-clear, they'll be heading for the cells.

The mechanic who was first on the roof with the two youths

saw everything as it happened.

Could hear them on the far side roof, I went out the side of the building,

had a quick look up, see him tip over the top.

Next thing I know, the alarms are going off,

so it was evident that somebody had gone through a roof and fell in.

I don't think they really realise

how close to really hurting themselves they've just been.

Em...phenomenal, really.

This lad was on the roof and saw his friend fall.

-How did you do that?

-I had to jump in through...

To try and help him?

-Cos I though he was paralysed.

-Yeah. He's lucky, he's a lucky boy.

-Them roofs are not good, are they?

-Landed, like, on his side.

Frightening, innit? Just think of what could have happened.

When I looked through, it looked like he was paralysed.

Look at the problem we've got -

we've got to get in to help you, haven't we?

We've got to get the equipment,

then get the people to come and help us to get in, so...

With the lads in the care of paramedics,

PC Michael Bentley returns to the shop to assess the damage.

I'm sorry this has happened to you, tonight.

We've caught the people that we believe were involved, anyway -

a bit further up the road. We had other problems and stuff...

This isn't just a case of vandalism, though.

This shopkeeper also suffered racial abuse in the attack.

She said, "You think I broke in?

"You Paki BLEEP, you think I broke it?

"I didn't break it", and she tried to...

Yeah, pulled her chest towards me.

So, I was a little bit afraid, you know?

She's coming towards me.

I said, "OK, I don't want to talk to you.

"I don't blame you, cos I know this is done by the guys."

All the youths involved in the attack were arrested.

The girl, aged just 13, who smashed the window

was earlier caught on CCTV

stealing a number of things from a petrol station

just minutes before her attack on the shop.

Working with a friend, she stands at the till

while the other girl causes a commotion at the front door.

And as the shopkeeper goes after her friend,

he helps herself to some chocolate.

She was later convicted of racially-aggravated criminal damage

and given a two-month night-time curfew,

monitored by an electronic tag,

as well as a nine-month rehabilitation order

and a two-year ASBO.

The boy who hit the sign was charged with criminal damage

and received a six-month rehabilitation order.

No further action was taken against the young lad,

who fell through the roof and broke his wrist.

Racially-motivated attacks, like we've just seen,

are a form of hate crime -

which, since 2009, the police have been taking a statistical record of.

Last year, they recorded a staggering 44,000 hate crimes

in England and Wales, of which 82% were race hate crimes.

They know that a great deal of harm can be done

to victims and communities,

so whenever the neighbourhood team hear about an incident,

they treat it with the utmost importance.

It's closing time in Hull,

and Jamie Campbell's been called out to deal with a man

who sounds like he's had a couple too many.

The command centre has asked us to assist the instant response team,

cos there's currently nobody available at the moment,

but a taxi driver's been getting some abuse from one of his customers

who's been sick in his taxi.

Being sick in a taxi is a civil offence which incurs a fine.

The police often get called to situations like this

if a passenger is refusing to pay.

-BLEEP...

-Go and stand back. Just go and stand over there.

-What's going on?

-Well, I picked up the guy in

-BLEEP

-Street, right?

Him and his friend and one female.

-From here to Vauxhall Tavern.

-Yep.

-Just stand this way, so I can keep an eye on my mate there.

-Yes, yes.

When he came out from the house, he got sick,

and I told the girl, make sure he is not sick in my car.

She said, "OK, that's fine." I drove up to here from there, right.

He was sick in my back-seat. I told him that it's a £60 fine by law.

-And he said no. He dropped his purse and I kept it.

-Right.

-He walked away and he shouted at me. He called me Paki

-BLEEP.

-I'm not a Paki.

-Right.

-I'm a Kurdish guy.

-OK.

I rang the police straightaway

because I don't want to cause trouble. This is my job.

The driver has been called a racial swearword, and that is a crime.

At the end of the day, if he's been sick in your car,

that's a civil dispute between yourself and him.

The reason I'm here is because of the allegation you've made,

-that he called you the word you said.

-Yes.

-All right?

Are you willing to support a prosecution by giving us

a statement as to what happened and sending him

to the magistrates' court?

-Yes.

-You are?

-Yes.

-Right, OK.

There's clearly a stain and what looks like vomit in the car,

but that's a problem for the taxi driver, not the police.

Jamie's concern is the alleged racial abuse from the passenger.

A girl was also in the taxi, so he gets her side of the story.

We've literally come from that house there on the very end, up to here.

He's sat in the back and he said, "I feel sick, I feel sick.

"I'm going to be sick." He was sick all over himself.

He asked the taxi driver to stop.

The taxi driver wouldn't stop, and then we got here,

and the taxi driver got out and he's like, "You've been sick!"

He was like, "I need to get out, I really need to get out."

So, he got out of the car and the taxi driver got his little torch out

-and he was like, "You've been sick on my seat. You owe me £60."

-Right.

-But let's be fair, he was sick on himself, all it is is water.

-Right.

-What did he shout at him?

-He called him a Paki

-BLEEP.

-Right, OK.

-Unfortunately, he's going to be getting locked up.

-Is he really?

-Yes, you can't go around calling people that.

-I know that, but...

-Put your hands out for me.

-You're not going to arrest me, are you?

-I am, yes.

-Really?! I've done nothing wrong, dude.

-Listen to me.

At this minute in time, I'm arresting you

for a Section Five Racially Aggravated Public Order Offence.

What does that mean?

Racially aggravated. It's causing harassment, alarm and distress.

-I only called him a Paki, that's all.

-Listen to me.

You don't have to say anything, but it may harm your defence

if you don't mention something we later rely on in court... Do you understand?

-No, no. I don't understand at all. I've done nothing wrong.

-Right.

-Nothing wrong whatsoever.

-Listen to me. I'm trying to help you out.

Sit in the back of the car, all right?

No, because you won't listen to me from the back of the car.

That's the thing, you will not listen to me whatsoever

if I'm in here.

If the taxi driver wants to press charges,

and the passenger is found guilty of racial abuse,

he could face a prison sentence of up to two years.

But he still doesn't think he's done anything wrong.

-This is

-BLEEP

-ridiculous!

-GIRL: Keep your mouth shut!

-Whatever, mate!

-Just leave him.

Stop swearing. SUSTAINED BLEEPING

Let me in and let me talk to him. Are you listening to me?

What I need you to do... Listen to me!

I need you to remain calm and stop shouting and swearing.

If you carry on doing that, you will be going into custody.

Do you understand me? Right, OK.

Humberside police take a zero-tolerance approach

when it comes to racial abuse.

It's degrading for the people.

This guy tells me, I believe he said he was originally from Kurdistan.

He's clearly come here to work.

He's not been abusive or aggressive to anybody else who's here.

He's here to work and he should be allowed to go about and do that.

Depending on whether he's black, white, purple, pink or blue.

It should make no difference.

So, for somebody to be singled out

purely because of the way they look, it's not acceptable.

But the situation has changed.

The female passenger has agreed to pay the fine for cleaning the taxi.

With the money in his pocket,

the taxi driver appears to have had a change of heart.

I got advice from the office. I spoke to them.

At the end of the day, I don't think he will do it again.

He's drunk anyway, so I don't like him to put him on crime for that.

Right. At the end of the day,

the issue we have is the language he's using is not acceptable.

We don't tolerate it, we don't see why you should have to tolerate it.

But unless you're prepared to support us

and go to court and give evidence in relation

-to what he's said to you, there's nothing we can do about it.

-I know.

Well, if that's what you want to do, our hands are tied.

I can't prosecute if you're not prepared to give us any evidence.

He's now changed his mind and he's telling me

that he's ultimately more interested in getting recompense for the cost

of his taxi being cleaned, and he doesn't really want

to do anything about the lad shouting and swearing at him.

It looks like sweet dreams, rather than nightmares,

for the snoozing man.

Wakey wakey, sunshine. It's your lucky night. Stand up.

-Do not cause trouble.

-Please, don't do it next time, it's not very nice.

I didn't mean any offence by it.

I don't want to take you to court,

-I don't want to put you on crime, you know.

-Listen to me.

What you're saying is not acceptable, all right?

I don't believe for one minute that you didn't mean it, all right?

If you didn't mean it, you wouldn't have said it.

So, keep your words and your thoughts to yourself. All right?

You know what you've done, you just waste your time, our time.

-Yeah, yeah. I didn't mean any offence. I apologise.

-All right.

-I suggest you get on your way while you still can.

-Don't do it next time.

Luckily for him,

he's going home, rather than the cells to sleep off the booze.

We've explained that it's not acceptable,

we don't tolerate it, and there's no reason why he should.

But ultimately, if he doesn't want to cooperate with us

and provide a statement to us, we have no evidence, therefore

we have no complainant, therefore the lad's going to be walking away.

Since they were built in the 1960s, the Ashthorpe and Milldane

tower blocks have dominated the skyline in north Hull.

But today, they're being demolished.

For safety reasons, nearby homes are being evacuated,

roads are being closed,

and large crowds are expected to watch the demolition.

So, the neighbourhood team, led by Sergeant Caroline Andrews,

have got a busy day ahead of them.

The evacuation has already started to take place.

It should have started from 8am and will be complete by 11am.

The evacuation consists of people whose properties

are within 120 metres of the exclusion zone, so we are expecting

quite an attendance from the estate, and from people elsewhere.

Hopefully, it should be quite an interesting spectacle.

A lot of the residents are already saying to us

that they're quite happy, shall we say, that this day's come

and that the flats are coming down.

In the half-century since they were built,

the blocks have fallen into disrepair.

Hull City Council decided it was cheaper to knock them down

and build new homes than to renovate them.

It was built in the early 1960s. At the time, it was a beautiful estate,

and it was an estate that many people wanted to live on.

In recent years, however, some of the flats became home to criminal

elements, which caused problems for the neighbourhood teams.

It's very difficult to police the flats,

especially if there are known criminals

living on the top floors of the flats.

It can be quite dangerous going up there.

There's a lot of people who are very happy to see them come down.

The twin tower blocks are being demolished as part of a £15 million

project to revitalise the estate and make way for over 100 new homes.

Since people have lived here a lot of years,

a lot of people have lived in the flats,

so it's from a nostalgia point of view they want to see them come down.

It's a nice day for all the residents to get together

and see the flats come down. It's something for them to talk about.

With 50 kilos of explosives, and hundreds of tonnes of falling concrete,

the neighbourhood team's main job is to prevent people

getting too close to the demolition sites.

Exclusion zones are in force for pedestrians.

No pedestrians can walk through here now.

The evacuation should be finished by now.

And really, no people should be going through now,

unless it's a vehicle. They're going to be stopped shortly.

Then we'll be into the final countdown

into when they actually get blown down.

Despite the imminent explosion,

some people are still unhappy they can't go where they please.

It's the construction company.

It's ridiculous, when you're letting cars through and you won't even let a person through!

You've got people walking about everywhere. You're not even consistent with each other!

Excuse me? Can you watch your language as well, please?

With 15 minutes to go, the community has gathered to watch

the demolition, and there is a feeling of nostalgia in the air.

I feel a bit sad, do you know what I mean?

Those were the best flats around here.

I've been brought up on Orchard Park. It's part of this street, it's part of our lives.

As you drive into Hull, it's one of the first things you see,

so it's going to be very odd.

And they're our reference points as well for when we're on patrol.

We kind of know where things are and streets are by these flats.

Satisfied the area has been successfully evacuated,

and everyone is safely behind the exclusion zone lines,

now is the time they have all been waiting for.

SIREN SOUNDS

The final warning siren is sounded.

With a safety zone of just 200 metres around each site,

everyone's hoping the blowdown goes to plan.

SHOUTING AND NOISY CHATTER

Pretty spectacular, I have to say.

It was exciting last year when we saw one,

but for two of them to go together,

it was pretty amazing, really.

But, er... It's just tinged with sadness that they've gone.

They're part of our landscape, they're part of our community.

The double demolition has been a complete success.

The neighbourhood team have done their job of keeping everyone safe.

There's been no problems at all.

I saw a stray dog just wandering around,

but that seems to have wandered around freely after it's come down,

so even the dog is safe.

Don't run away, pooch, come on.

Local residents can now look forward

to the future of the Orchard Park estate.

It did get to be a bit of an eyesore,

with the people that were living in it,

but now it's up to the rest of the community and everybody

to clean it all up, so let's get it going straight again.

To think that less than an hour ago it was stood,

and it had been here for all those years,

and now it's just a pile of rubble.

It is quite surreal, really, isn't it?

With the clear-up under way,

and the regeneration of the estate one step closer,

for the neighbourhood teams and public alike,

the day certainly went with a bang.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd