Episode 1 Oxford Street Revealed


Episode 1

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It's the most famous shopping street in the world in the heart

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of Britain's capital city, 1.5 miles long with 30 million visitors

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each year, with some of the world's most famous shops, biggest stars...

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-Kate Moss!

-..and busiest stations.

-Sorry, guys. Stand back for me.

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What does it take to keep it running 24 hours a day...

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Busiest street in the world so it needs constant attention.

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-..seven days a week?

-Clear off!

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You're going to be arrested on suspicion of attempted theft.

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-Are you ready, London?

-A street that never sleeps...

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This sort of thing wouldn't happen anywhere else.

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..Oxford Street.

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-Coming up: Rogue rickshaw drivers on Oxford Street.

-Police. Move on.

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The police set out to crush the problem.

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Happy days! Woohoo!

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Builders teeter on the edge...

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Yeah, it's a very long way down, so it is.

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Whoa, whoa, whoa!

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..and there's a problem for an Oxford Street Tube driver.

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I believe someone found themselves under a train.

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Constable Andy Pescott is the ward officer for the ORB police team,

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dedicated to Oxford Street.

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It's his job to listen to the concerns of local residents

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and businesses.

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One of the most frequent complaints is the behaviour of some

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-of the street's rickshaw drivers.

-Oi, what's that light? Red!

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You're crossing a road and you've got children on board.

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While some pedicab riders adhere to the rules, residents and businesses

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complain that many others frequently break them, clogging up the roads...

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-Whose is this one?

-..parking where they're not meant to...

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You both know that you cannot park outside Selfridges.

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..playing music too loud...

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MUSIC BLARES

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..and charging too much.

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-£5 per minute per person?

-Yeah.

-It's extortion.

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For the last two years,

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Andy's waged a one-man war against those operating on his patch.

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Clear off!

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He's tried various schemes to make them obey the rules,

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including signing them up to a code of practice...

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You will not stop on Oxford Street.

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-You will ride until your legs drop off.

-..issuing dispersal orders...

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You will not return for 48 hours.

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If you return within that time, you will be arrested.

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-..and just plain telling them off.

-And get on your way. Keep going!

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But the problem just keeps getting worse and worse,

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so much so that things have now come to a head for Andy.

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Tried working in partnership with them. They're not interested.

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It's all about money and greed.

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They are unlicensed, they're unregulated

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and they're uncontrolled.

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These guys think they can rule the streets. They can't.

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I can because I'm the law.

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He's now got a new weapon with which to bring the riders to heel -

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a criminal behaviour order, the modern equivalent of an ASBO.

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The authorities can apply for one if they've evidence

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all their other efforts at containing the problem have been ignored.

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And today, Andy's doing just that.

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He's taking one of his biggest problem drivers to court,

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where he could face a hefty fine and even more serious sanctions.

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Hopefully, I can get him banned from Westminster from riding

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anything other than a two-wheeled bicycle.

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Andy heads to court and he's already in a bad mood.

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He's had to cancel a family holiday to attend

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and there's a Tube strike on so he's having to walk.

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A pedicab rider has never been prosecuted in this way before

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and Andy isn't completely sure what the judge will decide.

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Well, everything's riding on this case today

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because it's going to set precedents.

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If I don't get a good result,

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it's going to send a message to them that they can flout the law.

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Nevertheless, he's confident of securing a conviction.

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I am the sheriff so there's only one outcome, isn't there? Happy days!

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The rider Andy's pursuing today is one of his serial problems.

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Called Davis Kaminskis, he's due in court at midday.

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Andy heads in to wait for him.

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But three hours later, there's still no sign of him.

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Most of the rickshaw riders know each other

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so Andy rings round some of them to try and locate Davis Kaminskis.

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So it's confirmed that Davis Kaminskis has left the country?

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All right. I appreciate that. Thank you very much, my friend. All right.

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I'll see you on the streets. All right. Cheers, mate.

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It's not good news. Andy put his best suit on for nothing.

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I've been stood at court all day like a complete muppet.

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I've cancelled my leave with my family to be here today at court.

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There'll be a warrant out for his arrest,

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and if he returns to the country, then he'll be arrested.

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I'm just very angry that my day's been wasted. Very angry.

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And the bad news for the pedicab riders of Oxford Street is

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that Andy's got to walk down it to get back to the station.

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Police. Move on.

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It's just relentless, isn't it? If it's not one thing, it's another.

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And then, across the street, Andy spots something that really

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makes his blood boil...

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HE SIGHS

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..an unattended pedicab parked up in the road, blocking the junction.

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The guy's taking the mickey, isn't he?

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Moments later, the rider appears, thinking he's got himself a fare.

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-Good. Ready?

-Yeah, I'm ready, my friend.

-Oh, sorry, mate.

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-Yeah, police. You're taking the mickey, aren't you?

-Huh?

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-You're taking the mickey.

-No, no, sorry...

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Yeah, the answer is, "Yes, officer, I am taking the mickey."

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Why have you abandoned it, firstly?

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Secondly, you actually parked at the junction on the lights.

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It's just, er... Got a coffee...

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If you want to stop and have coffee, me old mate,

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-do it on somebody else's footprint, OK?

-Yeah.

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You were about 20 seconds away from me getting this impounded

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for left unattended so get on your horse, get out of Dodge.

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Thoroughly chastened, the rider tries to make a quick getaway.

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-A little too quick for Andy.

-Move off with the lights, please.

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With the lights.

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Green! Go! Hasta la vista!

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As he continues his patrol,

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Andy spots another of his worst offending rickshaw riders, Rudolph.

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-Hello, Rudolph.

-Hi.

-He's someone that knows Davis Kaminskis well.

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-Davis, he should have been in court today.

-Yeah?

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-There's now going to be an arrest warrant out for him.

-I don't know.

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I'm just very angry that my day's been spent in court and his wasn't.

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-Hello, mate.

-And five minutes later, he comes across Mavis.

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He's another major flouter of the rules governing rickshaws

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and a fellow friend of Davis Kaminskis'.

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So he went back to Latvia to get it done?

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It's one of the better excuses Andy's heard.

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What he should have done, though, is

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because he was summoned to court, he should have let somebody know.

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And it may well be that he's arrested at the port

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-when he comes back in.

-OK. We have a receipt for the hospital.

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-Make sure he has the emergency stuff on him.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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If he can prove a genuine medical emergency,

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he won't be punished for missing the court date.

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Either way, Andy's chance to set a legal precedent to bring

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the rogue rickshaw riders to order has gone for today.

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He puts paperwork together to get criminal behaviour

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orders against two more of his major problem riders,

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both of whom he met today - Rudolph and Mavis.

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-Later, Andy's back at court but where are his riders?

-It's now 2:15.

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He was supposed to have been there for 1:30.

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I'm a bit worried he's not going to turn up.

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Building sites present many challenges

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and Oxford Street can be trickier than most.

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The narrow confines

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and millions of shoppers passing by add to the complexities

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faced by construction companies...

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..all of which take safety very seriously.

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That's certainly the case on the Oriana project.

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This 220,000 square foot development at the east end of the street

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is due for completion in late 2016

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and will provide retail space, offices and flats.

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Today, the builders have got a crucial job to do.

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There's a two-storey basement underneath an existing

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concrete floor.

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It's currently held up by a number of concrete pillars but to make

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this usable retail space, they want to remove the pillars altogether.

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OK, Dave.

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They've spent the last two days craning

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and welding a huge metal crossbar into place,

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supported by new steel struts to take the weight from the old pillars.

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With the bar in place, they can now jackhammer them out.

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And that's when things get challenging.

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It's one of the biggest tasks on the job, actually.

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Very tricky and very dangerous but with the health

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and safety in place, everything should go well.

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Making sure it does is Martin Kenefick

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and his five-tonne excavator machine.

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Within the next two days, I need to get this big lump of concrete,

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this block of concrete, broke down safe and securely.

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While Martin's knocking down the old support columns,

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Warren needs to make sure the slab

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and newly-installed metal beam above stay perfectly still.

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So this beam is holding up this slab.

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We're just taking levels now at this moment because,

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if there's any movement at all, we've got to stop work

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cos it's very dangerous underneath.

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More than a centimetre's movement would mean the support was

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unstable and risk the whole concrete floor

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collapsing into the ten-metre hole beneath.

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Martin picks up his jackhammer and gets to work on the column.

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Here we go.

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HAMMERING

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Most of the steel is in my way.

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It's very hard to break the concrete around it.

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After three hours of jackhammering, Warren steps in.

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If you stop breaking now.

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We're going to check the level of the beam,

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make sure it's not moving, yeah?

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Now, the moment of truth.

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Have a nice day.

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-How we looking?

-It's nice.

-Nice, yeah? That's good news.

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The beam is holding firm.

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In the excavator, Martin's edging closer and closer to the entrance

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to the pit, extending the machine to reach what's left of the column.

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There's only a small bit left

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but reaching it is the main problem at the minute.

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He spins the digger around to get even closer.

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He's now right on the edge of the pit.

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It's getting very hairy, so it is. Very scary.

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It's a very long way down.

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This would probably be up there with sort of the riskier

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stuff we're undertaking on this project.

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Just last bit of the block so I'm going to have to stretch

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the machine now to its full capacity and see, can I push it over?

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The back of the tracks are off the ground and Martin's

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stretched as far as he possibly can but the pillars are still standing.

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He's at full reach now. He's as close as he can get.

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We need a rethink on how we're going to get the lower

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part of the poles down.

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After a moment's puzzling, Warren's come up with a plan.

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What I want to try and do is try and lift the five-tonne machine

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down into the basement, mate,

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in through that hole we got in the slab.

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Craning the excavator into the hole is the quickest and easiest solution.

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The alternative, building a ramp, would take a lot more time

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and manpower.

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Getting it in there is the job of crane operator Dave,

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150 foot above Oxford Street.

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So, yeah, that would be the heaviest lift for today.

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Dave's used to lifting anything and everything on this site

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but this won't be simple. Warren's not even sure the machine will fit.

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There's rebars sticking out, which is going to

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extend the slab at a later date,

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so I'm just hoping it will squeeze down in between the two.

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Hopefully.

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The digger is changed to the crane and Dave begins to lift it.

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-Five tonnes is quite a lot.

-OK, whenever we're ready, yeah?

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The crane will bend and twist.

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And as you're lifting a heavy load,

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you'll feel the crane just start leaning forward.

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So then you bring your gib back to keep it central.

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Yeah. But you learn quickly!

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HE CHUCKLES

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Later, digging a hole for themselves.

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Can the Oriana team get the excavator in and the concrete pillars out?

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Um, hopefully, we can... Ooh!

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Every year, 30 million people visit Oxford Street.

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The vast majority come by public transport

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and that means riding the bus or taking the Tube.

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And neither form of transport can get there without their drivers.

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But just what's involved, being a driver of public transport,

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on and under Europe's busiest shopping street?

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There are 3,500 Tube drivers in London.

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-Will Gillingham is one of them.

-Ta-da!

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He's starting his day's work 15 miles from Oxford Street in West Ruislip.

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Once we get a nice green signal, we can be out of here.

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We're on the Central Line.

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We've just left South Ruislip, heading east.

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Today, Will's taking his Tube train right through Oxford Street's

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four Tube stations.

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Foremost among them, the busiest railway station in the UK -

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Oxford Circus.

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On the other side of London, Sharon is getting ready to make

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the same journey in the opposite direction and above ground.

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And I've taken my bus from Archway,

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get all the lovely passengers on board.

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She's one of 25,000 London bus drivers.

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Today, she's driving the 390 right down Oxford Street.

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I've been on the job, ooh, 16 years now.

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It's been kind of a challenge but, yeah, I love the challenge.

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Sharon will be driving the new Routemaster, modelled on its iconic

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but now retired namesake.

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Each bus costs around £350,000 -

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more than the average price of a UK home.

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Hello, Shez!

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Today, Gary will be Sharon's conductor,

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-now known as a customer assistant.

-You all right?

-All right?

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-Yeah, good to see you again.

-Nice one.

-Nice working with you.

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-All right?

-Yeah, you?

-Yeah.

-I ain't worked with you for a while.

-I know.

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-It's been ages!

-That's nice. Well, I'm glad I'm with you.

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Sharon and Gary have got a regular shift ahead of them

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involving six journeys up and down Oxford Street.

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They get going.

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Meanwhile, underground, Will is approaching the first

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and quietest of the four Oxford Street stations.

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This is Marble Arch.

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This is lunchtime.

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Give it another three hours or so and it gets quite interesting.

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Will's cab connects with the station's CCTV to help him

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operate the doors.

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So what you're looking at is all four at the same time

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and making sure that, when you want close the doors,

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there's no-one about to get caught in them.

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Please stand clear.

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Mind the closing doors now. Mind the doors.

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Next up is the biggest challenge for any Tube driver -

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the UK's busiest station.

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Next station is Oxford Circus and this one gets really,

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really busy and it doesn't disappoint!

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HE LAUGHS

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100 million passengers use Oxford Circus station every year.

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Making sure the doors close safely is paramount for Will.

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Ladies and gentlemen, please board the train quickly

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and move right down inside the cars. Now stand clear of the doors.

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The train is getting ready to depart. Stand clear now.

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We should really be departing

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but this is a typical example where we're likely to

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be in the platform just a few seconds longer than would be ideal.

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This train is now ready to depart. Stand clear now, please.

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Mind the closing doors. Mind the doors.

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With Oxford Circus passed, Will can begin to breathe a bit easier

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but a little further along and a call comes through to his cab.

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He's forced to hold the train while he finds out what's going on.

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Well, unfortunately, at Mile End on the eastbound,

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I believe someone found themselves under a train.

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The exact details of how that happened,

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what it was all about, I don't know.

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Someone on the tracks is the most difficult thing

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London Underground staff face at any time.

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Part and parcel of the job,

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that people do find themselves under trains, for whatever reason.

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Sometimes an accident, sometimes it isn't.

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It's that feeling of helplessness where,

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if someone is going to do that, you cannot do anything to avoid it.

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Trains are held back along the line while staff deal with the incident.

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Will and his passengers, meanwhile, sit patiently and wait.

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Back above ground and things are getting busy for Sharon and Gary.

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Just at the start of Oxford Street now.

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Oh, he's waiting for the bus. Come down.

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I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting!

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BEEPING

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I wouldn't have left you. I saw you running.

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SHE LAUGHS

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BEEPING

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Oxford Street is a journey many bus drivers dislike.

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-Sharon has many obstacles to avoid...

-Some people aren't even looking.

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They're just walking across and not even looking if the bus is moving.

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..reckless pedicabs...

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You just don't know when they're going to swing in front of you

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-and turn around.

-..crazy cyclists...

-Didn't even look.

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-He just jumped in the road.

-..foolhardy pedestrians.

-Uh-uh-uh!

0:19:020:19:06

We've got a Roadrunner! He didn't even look either.

0:19:060:19:09

Still keeping the good old wits about me. Wow!

0:19:090:19:13

But despite the other road users,

0:19:140:19:15

she makes it to the end of the street on time and in one piece.

0:19:150:19:19

Back underground and the Tube trains at Oxford Circus are at a standstill.

0:19:210:19:26

Further down the line, Will is still stuck in a station.

0:19:260:19:30

This is taking a little longer to put right than we would normally be.

0:19:300:19:33

This train is pretty full and, right now,

0:19:330:19:35

it's going to be hot back there.

0:19:350:19:37

In the height of summer,

0:19:390:19:40

temperatures on the Tube can reach as high as 35 degrees Celsius.

0:19:400:19:45

-With a man who wants to know what gives. Hello, buddy.

-How you doing?

0:19:450:19:48

Yeah, cool, mate.

0:19:480:19:49

Neither have we, if you want the truth!

0:19:520:19:54

No, the latest update I got was about five minutes ago,

0:19:540:19:57

-expecting it will be five minutes.

-Five minutes, yeah?

0:19:570:19:59

They've got traction current off because they want to reset

0:19:590:20:03

the section switch but it don't normally take this long.

0:20:030:20:07

-All right, then. Cheers.

-All right, buddy.

0:20:070:20:09

There we go.

0:20:110:20:12

Finally, after 20 minutes of waiting, a message comes through.

0:20:120:20:16

"Internal message for eastbound trains, drivers proceed..."

0:20:160:20:19

-We're good to go!

-"Eastbound trains, eastbound trains,

0:20:190:20:22

"Notting Hill Gate all the way to Bethnal Green..."

0:20:220:20:24

Good afternoon, ladies and gents, good news, we are now good to go,

0:20:240:20:27

that problem ahead of us has been resolved.

0:20:270:20:29

Please stand clear, mind the closing doors now, mind the closing doors.

0:20:290:20:33

Will and his passengers can get going again.

0:20:340:20:37

Above ground meanwhile, Sharon and Gary are done for the day.

0:20:370:20:41

Between them, London's buses and Tubes

0:20:410:20:43

have carried ten million passengers today

0:20:430:20:46

and it's all thanks to their drivers

0:20:460:20:48

and of course, the customer assistants.

0:20:480:20:51

They've done their bit to keep Oxford Street moving.

0:20:510:20:55

And here we are right now, the light at the end of the tunnel.

0:20:570:21:00

Daylight is ahead of us.

0:21:000:21:02

Earlier, we saw PC Andy Pescott's one-man war

0:21:120:21:15

on the rogue rickshaw drivers of Oxford Street...

0:21:150:21:18

-Police. Move on.

-..reach the criminal courts.

0:21:180:21:21

On that occasion, the driver he was after, Davis Kaminskis,

0:21:210:21:25

didn't turn up.

0:21:250:21:27

I've been stood at court all day like a complete muppet.

0:21:270:21:30

I'm just very angry that my day's been wasted.

0:21:300:21:34

Very angry.

0:21:340:21:35

But six weeks later, and Andy's back at court

0:21:350:21:38

with another chance to establish a precedent.

0:21:380:21:41

He's brought a case against a second rider, Rudolph.

0:21:410:21:45

Hello, Rudolph.

0:21:450:21:46

He's one of a group of riders that are constantly breaking the rules.

0:21:460:21:50

Andy plans to get him slapped with a criminal behaviour order,

0:21:500:21:53

which could see him given a long-term ban from operating in the area.

0:21:530:21:57

It's going to be quite difficult,

0:21:570:21:58

because obviously pedicab riding is his livelihood

0:21:580:22:01

and I'm trying to get him banned from the entirety of the borough.

0:22:010:22:04

It's the first of its kind

0:22:040:22:06

and there's a lot of people going to be monitoring the outcome of that,

0:22:060:22:09

including all the pedicab riders,

0:22:090:22:11

so, fingers crossed, it goes our way.

0:22:110:22:14

Andy heads in.

0:22:140:22:15

But after half an hour inside, he's back out.

0:22:160:22:19

Once again, he's been left waiting for a rider to turn up to court.

0:22:210:22:26

It's not surprising, but then he has a lot riding on it himself,

0:22:260:22:30

so hopefully he's got an excuse for why he's late.

0:22:300:22:33

If he doesn't turn up in the next few minutes,

0:22:330:22:35

Andy will miss his spot in front of the judge

0:22:350:22:38

and the day will have been wasted again.

0:22:380:22:40

-Oh, there he is.

-Suddenly, Rudolph makes an appearance.

0:22:410:22:45

Rudolph, that way!

0:22:450:22:47

Andy knows him well and rushes him into court.

0:22:470:22:50

After an hour inside, they're out.

0:22:540:22:57

ANDY LAUGHS

0:22:580:23:00

The criminal behaviour order's been granted.

0:23:000:23:02

He's been banned from Oxford Street for two years

0:23:020:23:05

from riding a pedicab.

0:23:050:23:07

The two year ban is a massive personal triumph for Andy.

0:23:070:23:12

Not only is one of his worst offenders now off the streets,

0:23:120:23:15

but he's got a legal precedent he can use

0:23:150:23:18

to get the other riders into line.

0:23:180:23:20

They're going to realise we're not to be messed with

0:23:200:23:22

and every single one of them at some point is going to end up here,

0:23:220:23:26

in court and they're going to lose.

0:23:260:23:28

Rudolph, can I get a word? Give us a quick word, just...

0:23:280:23:31

They're my streets, I'm here to police them

0:23:310:23:33

and I'm going to carry on, day in, day out. Minus Rudolph.

0:23:330:23:36

Yeah. Pedicab riders, nil. Police, one.

0:23:360:23:40

And two weeks later, a third rider, Mavis, had his hearing...

0:23:410:23:46

and was banned from riding a pedicab on Oxford Street for even longer,

0:23:460:23:50

five years,

0:23:500:23:51

as well as a £705 fine.

0:23:510:23:54

Later, Andy's defeat of the rogue rickshaw drivers...

0:23:570:24:00

..is a crushing one.

0:24:020:24:04

Woohoo!

0:24:040:24:05

At the Oriana site at the east end of Oxford Street,

0:24:150:24:18

a construction team are trying to remove the bottom half

0:24:180:24:21

of a group of concrete pillars,

0:24:210:24:23

to open up a brand-new retail space.

0:24:230:24:26

They need to get their excavator nearer to the pillars

0:24:260:24:29

so they've decided to try and crane it in through a hole in the ceiling -

0:24:290:24:33

all five tonnes of it.

0:24:330:24:34

Here we go. Nice and easy, mate. Nice and easy.

0:24:430:24:45

I hope so. I hope the steel's not in the way.

0:24:490:24:51

It's tight.

0:24:510:24:54

Might have to go down and in.

0:24:540:24:55

You know, give me a touch to your left. A touch to your left.

0:24:550:24:59

There is only an inch either side of the machine

0:25:000:25:03

and absolutely no room for error.

0:25:030:25:06

Whoa, whoa, whoa...

0:25:060:25:08

Oh.

0:25:080:25:10

But the alternative - building a ramp into the pit -

0:25:100:25:13

is time-consuming, and will stop work elsewhere on-site.

0:25:130:25:16

We're trying to just jostle it around as much as possible.

0:25:160:25:20

It's very, very close.

0:25:200:25:22

With the machine above the hole, it's becoming clear that

0:25:220:25:25

if it's going to go in at all, it's going to be very tight.

0:25:250:25:29

-Give me a touch more down...

-OK.

0:25:330:25:35

No, we're going to have to abort, lads.

0:25:350:25:37

It was worth a shot, but it's unfortunately failed us.

0:25:370:25:39

Back to the drawing board.

0:25:390:25:41

Dave lifts it back up and away from the hole.

0:25:460:25:50

Unfortunately we have to organise a smaller machine now,

0:25:500:25:52

or a bigger hole,

0:25:520:25:54

so it is what it is, my friend.

0:25:540:25:55

That's the building game.

0:25:550:25:57

Martin's not going to let something like that keep him

0:25:580:26:01

from finishing his job on time, and he's got a plan.

0:26:010:26:05

With a bucket on the front, he moves to plan B -

0:26:050:26:08

building himself a slope he can drive the machine down and into the pit.

0:26:080:26:12

Martin digs away for nearly two hours

0:26:170:26:20

and then he's done.

0:26:200:26:21

Right, so now the machine's down there safely and securely,

0:26:250:26:28

we're going to put a temporary access in.

0:26:280:26:30

We'll build some temporary steps for him to get up out.

0:26:300:26:33

But with Dave lifting the jackhammer down to Martin,

0:26:330:26:36

deep in the cavern-like pit,

0:26:360:26:37

he gets to work on what remains of the old pillars.

0:26:370:26:41

MACHINE RATTLES

0:26:410:26:47

In just an hour and a half, he's finished.

0:26:470:26:50

Yeah, it's all done now. Thank God.

0:26:510:26:52

It took a while but it got there eventually.

0:26:520:26:55

In nine months, the project will be complete,

0:26:550:26:58

and the face of the street changed forever.

0:26:580:27:01

In the meantime, the crew of the Oriana project

0:27:010:27:04

will continue to enjoy building it.

0:27:040:27:06

I like what I do - that's why come to work every day.

0:27:060:27:09

This rates pretty high up there,

0:27:090:27:11

hanging over the edge of a ten-foot, ten-metre drop is...

0:27:110:27:15

pretty intense, so it is.

0:27:150:27:16

In South London, the self-styled Sheriff of Oxford Street,

0:27:240:27:28

Andy Pescott, has come to a council lock-up for a very special event.

0:27:280:27:33

Today is a beautiful day.

0:27:330:27:36

In the two years he's been battling rogue rickshaw riders,

0:27:360:27:39

Westminster Council has seized a number of pedicabs.

0:27:390:27:43

We've got 14 pedicabs.

0:27:440:27:45

They've all committed offences in one way or another.

0:27:450:27:48

Today, Andy's got plans for them.

0:27:480:27:50

Happy days.

0:27:500:27:52

I think we've had them in storage long enough

0:27:520:27:54

and we're getting them destroyed. Happy days.

0:27:540:27:57

He's arranged for a scrap metal firm to recycle the pedicabs.

0:27:580:28:02

You want to commit crime in my area?

0:28:030:28:05

This is what's going to happen.

0:28:050:28:07

I'm going to see you in court

0:28:070:28:09

and I'm going to make representations to have

0:28:090:28:11

your pedicab seized and destroyed.

0:28:110:28:14

Wave goodbye to your pedicab.

0:28:140:28:15

Andy's won the battle but he knows the war continues

0:28:200:28:23

and he's not giving up in a hurry.

0:28:230:28:26

I'm off back to Oxford Street now to start all over again.

0:28:260:28:30

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