:00:16. > :00:26.could help save lives. The lorries hit the cars in front of us and we
:00:26. > :00:30.could hear banging from behind as well. It was hell. It was just the
:00:30. > :00:34.worst noise running through your head, these screams of people and
:00:34. > :00:40.not knowing what to do first. Terrible memories, never to be
:00:40. > :00:42.forgotten. But a question mark hangs over this accident. Witnesses
:00:42. > :00:47.reported a catastrophic loss of visibility. What caused it? Was it,
:00:47. > :00:57.as police have suggested, smoke from fireworks? Or something long
:00:57. > :00:59.
:00:59. > :01:05.recognised to be a danger at this very spot? Tonight we can reveal
:01:05. > :01:13.this stretch is known by the authorities to be a fog prone
:01:13. > :01:20.stretch of motorway. Consultants have recommended upgrading the fog
:01:20. > :01:23.warning system, a recommendation on which there are no plans to act.
:01:23. > :01:26.Police have said a fireworks display held at a rugby club near
:01:26. > :01:32.the accident scene is their main line of inquiry, but we've learned
:01:32. > :01:34.they've also consulted the Met Office over the weather that night.
:01:34. > :01:38.Whatever caused the visibility problems, signs which could have
:01:38. > :01:48.warned of it weren't activated. So motorists had no idea of the danger
:01:48. > :01:48.
:01:48. > :01:54.that lay ahead. We pulled on to beat M 5 and we were getting up to
:01:54. > :02:04.speed behind the Ice land truck in the middle lane, when we came into
:02:04. > :02:09.
:02:09. > :02:13.a wall of very sudden thick fog. was like somebody had thrown a
:02:13. > :02:18.towel over the front of the windscreen. When that was gone, I
:02:18. > :02:24.could see the truck again but it was stationary. I stood on the
:02:24. > :02:28.brakes. At I thought we would not be able to stop. But we did, with
:02:28. > :02:31.about 10 feet to spare, from my memory. Based on pictures taken
:02:31. > :02:34.after the accident, we've tried to indicate what happened in the
:02:34. > :02:37.aftermath. The vehicles represented may not be exactly where they ended
:02:37. > :02:46.up immediately after the crash. The Nenos were in the very first phase
:02:46. > :02:51.of the collision, and Ciara was one of the first to dial 999. I told
:02:51. > :02:56.them we need ambulance, fire brigade and police. I said this is
:02:57. > :02:59.not just the small crash, it is many crashes and I can see fire.
:03:00. > :03:05.Then came the second phase of the crash, a lorry jack-knifed behind
:03:05. > :03:10.them, protecting the couple from impact. I said I am not sitting
:03:10. > :03:15.here any longer. I have got to go out and see what I can do. When I
:03:15. > :03:19.stepped up to the car, it was like stepping on to a movie set. Roger
:03:19. > :03:26.saw two men trapped in the car directly in front of him. He
:03:26. > :03:33.borrowed a tyre lever from a truck driver. I ran back and told the guy
:03:33. > :03:41.in the seat to turn away and I smashed the window. He reached out
:03:41. > :03:47.and I pulled him out. The chap on the other side was very dazed, in a
:03:47. > :03:52.slightly worse way. We said you orange and is gone, your car is
:03:52. > :03:55.smoking, you need to get out. We pulled him out. Tom Hamill, his
:03:55. > :03:57.girlfriend Katharine, and his dad had pulled up behind the jack-
:03:57. > :04:07.knifed lorry. They too were remarkably lucky not to have been
:04:07. > :04:07.
:04:07. > :04:16.hit. I sat there and Thomas was like "we are going to get hit,
:04:16. > :04:22.brace yourself" and I saw to the left cars crashing. Someone shouted,
:04:22. > :04:30."please, take my baby. My husband is trapped in the car, take my
:04:30. > :04:36.baby". I was standing in the central reservation as more cars
:04:36. > :04:44.were crashing into the back. On the other side of the now blazing lorry,
:04:44. > :04:49.Roger Neno followed a young woman's cries for help. Ghurka was pinned
:04:49. > :04:53.under the lorry, and I am thinking that fired his gun to spread
:04:53. > :05:00.underneath this lorry and it won't take very long, the way it is
:05:00. > :05:09.burning. I told her to move back, and at the 4th attempt the window
:05:10. > :05:18.smashed. Then I pulled her out. As I was doing this, I saw a lady that
:05:18. > :05:27.was... A lady that was pinned by her legs under the back wheel of
:05:27. > :05:32.that car underneath the lorry. She was screaming, "help, get me out"
:05:32. > :05:35.Obviously fearful she was going to lie there and burnt as well. With
:05:35. > :05:40.no chance of releasing her, Roger ran for help, returning with an
:05:40. > :05:45.off-duty doctor and one of the fire crews which were now arriving.
:05:45. > :05:49.could see Roger going towards the car, and of course there was this
:05:49. > :05:53.huge fireball behind. It just exploded and I screamed at him to
:05:53. > :05:56.get out. I thought everything was going to go up. Despite the
:05:56. > :06:00.fireball, the woman was saved. Roger and Ciara spent hours at the
:06:00. > :06:06.scene, helping with the rescue effort. The biggest accident
:06:06. > :06:08.investigation ever mounted by Avon and Somerset police is now underway.
:06:08. > :06:14.But what's already emerged is that the visibility warning system on
:06:14. > :06:17.the M5 is outdated. The signs have to be activated by highways
:06:17. > :06:20.authority control room staff and the agency says that it didn't get
:06:21. > :06:30.any reports of fog at the time of the accident, so it didn't turn the
:06:31. > :06:31.
:06:31. > :06:33.signs on. Elsewhere the authorities don't rely on human intervention.
:06:33. > :06:41.In Holland there are roadside detectors that automatically turn
:06:41. > :06:44.on warning signs even if visibility suddenly deteriorates. I travelled
:06:44. > :06:54.to meet Hans Remain, who helped to install the Dutch system, after a
:06:54. > :06:57.
:06:57. > :07:03.fatal pile-up there 20 years ago. In 1990, there was a very severe
:07:04. > :07:13.accident during a dense fog. There were many deaths and many
:07:14. > :07:15.
:07:15. > :07:24.casualties. This cost the -- caused the Ministry of Transport to
:07:24. > :07:28.install a fog warning system. Those thick patches of fog are so
:07:28. > :07:33.unexpected you can't give this task to a human being, as far as we
:07:33. > :07:41.think. In the UK such a system is on the M25, on some motorways in
:07:41. > :07:44.the North West, and only a handful of other locations. We obtained
:07:44. > :07:52.from the Highways Agency a consultant report from last year
:07:52. > :07:57.which identified the M5 accident spot as at high risk from fog and
:07:57. > :08:01.recommended a system. We asked the agency if it had any plans to do so,
:08:01. > :08:04.it said it didn't and would only look at safety improvements once
:08:04. > :08:06.the result of the police investigation were known. The cost
:08:07. > :08:09.of installing the visibility sensors in the south west,
:08:10. > :08:19.according to the report, is �3 million. Some of those involved in
:08:19. > :08:28.that terrible accident want action now. There is a big fog danger
:08:28. > :08:33.along the whole of the M 5. Any warning would be beneficial, even
:08:33. > :08:36.10 mph would have made some of those fatal crashes perhaps near
:08:36. > :08:42.fatal and given people half a chance. That would be a phenomenal
:08:42. > :08:47.idea, and why not? If that is something that can be provided,
:08:48. > :08:55.then yes, definitely. And the police investigation into the crash
:08:55. > :09:04.Coming up next: We go undercover to find out just how one car clamper
:09:04. > :09:10.is making thousands. How do you come up with your fees? You need to
:09:10. > :09:17.speak to the government about that. Bin it! What it's really costing to
:09:17. > :09:21.clean up our mess. One of the things I say to people is next time
:09:21. > :09:26.you see somebody dropping a crisp packet on the floor, imagine they
:09:26. > :09:30.are dropping your �5 note because you are paying for them to pick it
:09:30. > :09:34.The AA estimates almost 800,000 vehicles are clamped every year,
:09:34. > :09:36.costing motorists around �90 million. A fair cop? Well maybe not.
:09:36. > :09:39.The clampers have caught the Government's attention, but, as Jon
:09:39. > :09:46.Cuthill's been finding out in Southampton, at the moment it's
:09:46. > :09:50.still a nice little earner for some people.
:09:50. > :09:53.Stop at any private car park these days and you may well find a sign
:09:53. > :09:59.warning that you could be clamped. But the practices behind some of
:09:59. > :10:02.the companies have led to the Government's own clampdown. Here in
:10:02. > :10:07.Hampshire one firm under the spotlight is White's Car Park
:10:07. > :10:13.Solutions. Its boss Jason White has certainly hit the headlines. In the
:10:13. > :10:16.past, angry motorists have even beaten him up. Most recently in
:10:16. > :10:23.Winchester he was threatened with a meat cleaver. So what is it that
:10:23. > :10:26.makes them so angry? After all, he's only doing his job. All these
:10:26. > :10:29.motorists have been clamped by Mr White's company and what makes
:10:29. > :10:39.their blood boil is how the costs can rack up, especially if you are
:10:39. > :10:49.
:10:49. > :10:53.towed away. You are going to have to pay me �428. �468 in total.
:10:53. > :10:56.thought we'd have a look at the way he operates. We did ask Mr White if
:10:56. > :10:59.we could come out clamping with him, but he declined, so I'm going to go
:10:59. > :11:09.undercover. Using possibly one of the worst disguises ever seen on
:11:09. > :11:10.
:11:10. > :11:18.TV... Roller skating accident. Nasty. It appears, young or old,
:11:18. > :11:24.crutches or no crutches, anyone's fair game. It is an area I have
:11:24. > :11:28.part in lots of times before. I visit a friend on not road and I
:11:28. > :11:35.had no idea it had been made a prohibited area so I didn't look
:11:35. > :11:39.for any signs. Then when I came back later, the car had gone. Of
:11:39. > :11:42.course I thought it had been stolen. 90 year old Dennis Wilson wasn't
:11:42. > :11:46.displaying his disability badge when he parked on a site patrolled
:11:46. > :11:56.by Whites. His car was seized, and because it was a Friday they said
:11:56. > :11:56.
:11:56. > :12:05.he couldn't collect it till after the weekend. And the total bill?
:12:05. > :12:09.the Monday it was �300 for towing away, 184 the clamp. Storage at �42,
:12:09. > :12:16.then on top of that you are virtually obliged to pay by credit
:12:16. > :12:24.card because not many people can lay their hands on �800 on the spot.
:12:24. > :12:31.They charged 5% of the total. So the total I paid was �680.40.
:12:31. > :12:34.is a tidy sum. Now we're on our way to a car park to get clamped. So
:12:34. > :12:37.what are the rules on this business? There's never a car
:12:37. > :12:41.parking expert when you need one. Here's one! What Patrick Troy
:12:41. > :12:49.doesn't know about parking isn't worth knowing. Clamping on private
:12:49. > :12:53.Clamping on private land is an unregulated industry. We produce
:12:53. > :12:56.guidelines which we expect clamping companies to sign up to. But it is
:12:56. > :12:59.voluntary and the company you are investigating isn't a member. They
:12:59. > :13:03.are therefore not controlled. So Whites, by not signing up, don't
:13:03. > :13:07.have to keep to the guidelines. OK, so what are their rules? Let's park
:13:07. > :13:11.somewhere we shouldn't. A private staff car park in Eastleigh in
:13:11. > :13:19.Hampshire. Sorry, Blockbuster. While my pretend sister and I go
:13:19. > :13:27.off shopping, this happens. I have been clamped? You're joking.
:13:27. > :13:35.How much will it cost? It will cost 180. 180 quid? If we can't get the
:13:35. > :13:39.money... You will get it code. will cost more. �120 on that.
:13:39. > :13:44.�180 for the clamp release and on top of that, a possible �300 tow-
:13:44. > :13:49.away fee. It seems there's nothing I can do it about it. It wasn't
:13:49. > :13:53.reasonable and, by any definition, that was excessive. What we say in
:13:53. > :14:02.our code is that you either have a clamp release fee or you have a
:14:02. > :14:05.tow-away fee. You can't charge both. There should be one charge. It is
:14:05. > :14:08.meant to be a deterrent. It shouldn't be excessive and it
:14:08. > :14:12.shouldn't be unreasonable. After a fake trip to the cash point,
:14:12. > :14:15.I pretend I can't get the �180. The car therefore will be taken to the
:14:15. > :14:18.compound just a few minutes' away, but I'm told I can't collect my car.
:14:18. > :14:24.They'll have to deliver it to me. And guess what? That's another 50
:14:24. > :14:29.quid. He'll charge for delivery. Well, I don't want him to deliver.
:14:29. > :14:36.The overnight the I would get charged and on top of that, he has
:14:36. > :14:38.to deliberate. You are just making it up.
:14:38. > :14:46.Meanwhile, the boss himself Jason White has arrived and is preparing
:14:47. > :14:54.to take my wheels away. And it's all going to cost me �614.
:14:54. > :14:57.Argue Mr White? Yes. The -- why you. How can you justify �600? It
:14:57. > :14:59.doesn't cost you �600 to run a tow truck. The Government set the
:14:59. > :15:02.guidelines. The Government doesn't say �600. That is rubbish.
:15:02. > :15:06.White's signs do list all the charges he's come up with, so he
:15:06. > :15:16.could say we've all been warned. But there's a lot of charges, and a
:15:16. > :15:16.
:15:16. > :15:22.lot of small print. Do you not have to give me paperwork at all? You
:15:22. > :15:25.can't just take my car. The next day, at a time decided by
:15:25. > :15:30.Whites Car Park solutions, I'm told to return to Blockbuster car park.
:15:30. > :15:35.Our man wants his cash. But there's no sign of my car. You've got to
:15:35. > :15:45.pay me now, sign a receipt and then he'll bring it back. Until you hand
:15:45. > :15:49.
:15:49. > :15:54.it over to me, that vehicle's not This is a joke. You guys get
:15:54. > :16:01.funnier every time. So I hand over the 600 quid. And Mr White rings to
:16:01. > :16:07.check the transaction is complete. All done, waiting for you. While he
:16:07. > :16:17.writes the recede, it all starts to come back. -- receipt. This clamper
:16:17. > :16:39.
:16:40. > :16:47.Heart-to-heart over, it's back to business. Cue Mr White and my car.
:16:47. > :16:53.Now the tiny issue of getting my car off his truck.
:16:53. > :16:59.I can't, I've got to wait for my sister.
:16:59. > :17:09.In the end, we push it off. How do you come up with your fees?
:17:09. > :17:20.
:17:20. > :17:23.You have to speak to the Government So if I wanted to complain?
:17:23. > :17:25.In fact, it's the SIA, the Security Industry Authority, who issue
:17:25. > :17:29.clampers like Mr White with their licences, but they won't
:17:29. > :17:32.investigate individual complaints. And as for Mr White's claim that
:17:32. > :17:35.the Government authorises the fees, that's rubbish. In fact, next year
:17:35. > :17:37.there's expected to be a new law that bans clamping on private land
:17:37. > :17:41.all together. We did ask Mr White for an
:17:41. > :17:44.interview, but he didn't take us up on our offer. So for now he's at
:17:44. > :17:51.liberty to carry on clamping and charging fees that the British
:17:51. > :17:54.Parking Association says This isn't about extortion. This is
:17:54. > :17:58.about managing private land and clamping is simply a means of
:17:58. > :18:01.managing private land. It shouldn't be seen as a way of making lots of
:18:01. > :18:05.money out of people or of extorting money out of people.
:18:05. > :18:15.Seven months after he was clamped, World War II veteran Mr Wilson is
:18:15. > :18:16.
:18:16. > :18:19.still fuming. The man is absolutely beneath contempt. A lot of my
:18:19. > :18:29.friends were killed fighting for the freedom that Jason White uses -
:18:29. > :18:31.
:18:31. > :18:35.or misuses - to inflict on his Our bill for cleaning up our litter
:18:35. > :18:38.is reportedly a staggering �885 million across England. In these
:18:38. > :18:41.cash-strapped days, that's money councils can ill afford. So I've
:18:41. > :18:49.been following a litter trail to find out if any northern town has
:18:49. > :18:54.the answer. Three Northern towns trying to
:18:54. > :19:01.become cities. Trying to deal with one problem. It's like a bomb's
:19:01. > :19:09.gone off, really, sometimes. Everything is on the floor, chips,
:19:09. > :19:16.Cygnus, debris, Greece. Litter is a big issue in this country. You
:19:16. > :19:18.wouldn't throw it in your own house. In Doncaster, Bolton and
:19:18. > :19:22.Middlesbrough, councils have told us picking up litter is simply a
:19:22. > :19:28.waste of money. It's coming out of your pocket. And if you don't think
:19:28. > :19:33.it is a problem, take another look. Every place has a different tactic.
:19:33. > :19:36.In Doncaster, they'll hunt you down. Then nab you. I am part of the
:19:36. > :19:42.council's enforcement team, and I speak to you about your cigarette
:19:42. > :19:50.ends? This is possibly the toughest council in England when it comes to
:19:50. > :19:52.litter enforcement. If you drop litter, you can get fined �75.
:19:52. > :19:55.Paul Scarborough and his colleagues actually have targets for the
:19:55. > :20:01.amount of fines they hand out, because they say being all nicey
:20:01. > :20:06.nicey just doesn't wash. Really, we have got to be a situation where we
:20:06. > :20:09.have got to have teeth. The �75 is the teeth.
:20:09. > :20:15.And they do it because they'd rather not spend money from
:20:15. > :20:18.increasingly stretched budgets on picking up our rubbish.
:20:18. > :20:20.In England alone, local authorities spend an average of �885 million on
:20:20. > :20:26.street cleansing and that's obviously money that could be much
:20:26. > :20:29.better spent on other things. Doncaster would have �3 million
:20:29. > :20:33.every year to spend on other things. Across the Pennines, in Bolton,
:20:33. > :20:37.litter costs �2.8 million. In Middlesbrough, they don't know the
:20:37. > :20:44.exact cost, but the council takes a totally different tack.
:20:44. > :20:48.They focus much more on changing people's behaviour. And if that
:20:48. > :20:52.doesn't work, they tell you off. Would the man in the black jacket
:20:52. > :20:56.and the grey trousers pick up your litter?
:20:56. > :21:01.Five years ago, talking cameras were brought in. I do think it
:21:02. > :21:06.works. We do have 21 cameras in the town. That covers a lot of ground
:21:06. > :21:11.and a lot of people pick up the litter. Have you ever seen it work?
:21:12. > :21:15.We have got some footage of a lady, who, on a night out has ripped up a
:21:15. > :21:23.yellow Pages book and the talking camera that had to pick up the
:21:24. > :21:26.litter and she picked it up and that every piece in the bin.
:21:26. > :21:36.In Doncaster, they find fear works better. If they're caught, they
:21:36. > :21:39.
:21:39. > :21:42.will be fined. And therefore we hope it's in the back of people's
:21:42. > :21:44.minds that it might be them that gets caught next. And therefore we
:21:44. > :21:47.think that's why zero tolerance works.
:21:47. > :21:51.But not with everyone. It is just the Government way of making easy
:21:51. > :21:54.money. They are getting paid for people's mistakes, which is how
:21:54. > :21:57.government works. In Doncaster last year, they raised
:21:57. > :22:03.a cool �120,000 in fines. Compared to �6,000 in Bolton. And
:22:04. > :22:07.Middlesbrough? Just �250. I think what we've got is a measure of
:22:08. > :22:11.success because we don't need to fine people. So you don't worry
:22:11. > :22:16.that Doncaster's bringing in all this money and Middlesbrough's not?
:22:16. > :22:19.His Doncaster cleaner than Middlesbrough?
:22:19. > :22:23.Well, no. But litter is such a tricky issue, even campaign groups
:22:23. > :22:28.are arguing about it. It's a British institution. Keep
:22:28. > :22:31.Britain Tidy, based in Wigan, has been around for 50 years. But now a
:22:31. > :22:35.new band of litter activists say continuing to fund it is throwing
:22:35. > :22:38.taxpayers' money in the bin. Their campaigning just hasn't worked and
:22:38. > :22:41.if you asked me to provide evidence of that, well, there are streets
:22:41. > :22:43.like this all over England which unfortunately provide the results
:22:43. > :22:47.and the evidence. John Read launched Clean Up Britain
:22:47. > :22:50.this year with the help of celebrities.
:22:50. > :22:57.Litter is a big issue in this country, it's grown 500% in 20
:22:57. > :23:00.years. You wouldn't throw litter in your own house. It is a group of
:23:00. > :23:05.private individuals who have got together with a range of
:23:05. > :23:08.professional skills to have come together to run this campaign.
:23:08. > :23:13.And by saying Keep Britain Tidy is failing, they've caused quite a
:23:13. > :23:16.stir. It is disappointing, we try and campaign and good things in the
:23:16. > :23:24.media so it does seem daft to Trust -- set up something against us, but
:23:24. > :23:27.that is what they have chosen But Keep Britain Tidy's campaigns,
:23:27. > :23:29.like this, are part-funded by the taxpayer. And on top of that, they
:23:29. > :23:32.ask councils in towns like Doncaster for even more money.
:23:32. > :23:37.Can we afford it? In Bolton, they're already feeling the pinch.
:23:37. > :23:40.Unfortunately, with the cutbacks and everything, it has deteriorated.
:23:40. > :23:44.Because of the workforce, unfortunately. We are actually
:23:44. > :23:50.trying to make sure that people don't drop litter in the first
:23:50. > :23:52.place. It is a mind to change that we need. When we have it -- areas
:23:52. > :23:56.that were exceedingly poor, especially in the North of England,
:23:56. > :24:01.people always used to go out and clean the street in front of their
:24:01. > :24:11.houses. It didn't stop that pride in where they lived. Where did that
:24:11. > :24:15.
:24:15. > :24:18.pride go? Here is one random search of a
:24:18. > :24:21.rural road near Middlesbrough. Look closer. And even if you think
:24:21. > :24:26.littering is wrong, there you intervene?
:24:26. > :24:31.The thing is, if we see somebody Douet, what are we supposed to do?
:24:31. > :24:35.Does it take guts to throw -- tell someone offer for littering.
:24:35. > :24:44.You dropped some that are just there. That cigarette packet.
:24:44. > :24:51.yes. Why did you do it? I don't know. By you go into stop it?
:24:51. > :24:58.did you put it down? -- Are you going to stop it. Sorry. I know you
:24:58. > :25:04.are sorry. Let's find a been, it is just there. I'm sorry. It is
:25:04. > :25:07.embarrassing, isn't it? Most people, when you tell them
:25:07. > :25:15.about it, they know they have done wrong and they put it right, but
:25:15. > :25:19.they have done it, haven't they? It councils didn't pick up litter,
:25:19. > :25:22.who would? Middlesbrough and Bolton councils have accepted our
:25:22. > :25:27.challenge not to clean the street to see what would happen. The
:25:27. > :25:35.question is, do we really want to keep Britain tidy? Bolton agreed to
:25:35. > :25:41.leave 100m of a town centre street unclean for a day. And this is what
:25:41. > :25:45.we found. I am shocked and I think the
:25:45. > :25:48.majority of people who see that kind of letter will quite -- were
:25:49. > :25:53.quite shocked at what they saw, because that would normally have
:25:53. > :26:01.all been cleaned away in the early hours. We asked a local children to
:26:01. > :26:05.clean up the mess. But in Middlesbrough, it is going
:26:05. > :26:11.to be a much tougher job. The council that one mile of its
:26:11. > :26:17.busiest road unclean for a whole weekend. It is disgusting. Loads of
:26:17. > :26:21.plastic bags everywhere, crisp packets, cigarette packets. Maybe
:26:21. > :26:28.they should have come out at 8 o'clock in the morning. It is a bit
:26:28. > :26:34.late. Would you say to damages your business? Definitely. -- it damages.
:26:34. > :26:38.It is so dirty, every so often, we watch it ourselves. Cleaning our
:26:38. > :26:46.own bit of the street might not be at a bad idea with council budgets
:26:46. > :26:52.under pressure. -- a bad idea. And in this one