The M6 around Birmingham has flooded, causing a 35-mile tailback of cars, vans and lorries
The Motorway Cops crack down on drivers who disregard the law and deal with the trail of destruction left by those who take dangerous risks on the roads. The cops hear some poor excuses and tackle some difficult drivers. PCs Paul Finlayson and Tracey Cope are called to a crash between a car and a lorry on the M6. The car's a write-off, and it seems the driver's been drinking, although he plays it down, and even tries to fool the breathalyser - twice. Over on the M5, PC Adam Toal's patience is tried when he catches a loudmouthed professional driver using his mobile phone; and he's surprised to be overtaken at 80 mph by a woman who wants to let her son wave at the police car. The Cops are forced to shut a large section of the motorway when a late night lorry fire causes misery for motorists on the M6 and an on/off pursuit of a stolen car in Birmingham has an unexpected twist when PCs Toal and Watson finally catch the driver and his passenger.
In 2008, BBC cameras filmed two Swedish sisters throwing themselves into traffic on the M6. When it was shown on BBC One, nearly 7 million viewers were glued to their screens, and millions more watched it later on YouTube. The footage was shocking. One previewer wrote "On no account miss this documentary. It opens with what is perhaps the most extraordinary footage I've seen on TV". But this amazing footage was only part of an even more incredible story, one which could not be told at the time for legal reasons. Now, two years later, this documentary reveals the full story of the hours just before the cameras captured that motorway footage, and the even more chilling story of what happened over next 72 hours, which left one of the sisters fleeing the scene of a crime, after she had stabbed a man through the chest. Those who were at the centre of this fascinating legal case, including the police and Crown prosecution service, reveal the complex issues involved in both bringing charges and taking this disturbing case to trial. A leading criminal psychiatrist, Dr. Nigel Eastman, explains the difficulties the judicial system has in achieving justice and deciding punishment when dealing with mental illness. He explains the possible causes of the womens' behaviour, and why, in his view, it could happen again.
The cops deal with a serious accident involving pedestrians and a 44 tonne lorry
The Motorway Cops are called to an accident involving a 44 tonne lorry
A high-speed chase enters Birmingham and a gang tries to steal a lorry's load
A crash involving a 44-tonne lorry and two cars brings chaos to an unlit part of the M6.
The Motorway Cops chase after runaway drivers, including a stolen high-performance car.
The Motorway Cops help stop a stolen lorry on the rampage in the city centre.
Amid icy conditions, the Motorway Cops are forced to close the motorway
The motorway cops are faced with organised criminal gangs from overseas
The motorway cops attempt to crack down on truckers who fail to pay attention to the road ahead. Many truckers are literally above the law, as the lorries are so high up that the cops in their patrol cars cannot see what the drivers are up to. However, the police have a solution, using their own HGV to see what the truckers get up to when they are driving on the motorway.
The cops use experience and a 'sixth sense' to sniff out motorists with something to hide
The Motorway Cops crack down on criminals who use the roads to transport illegal goods
The Motorway Cops catch up with the drivers who try to cheat the system
The Motorway Cops call on the assistance of the police helicopter, Alpha Oscar One
The motorway cops have to gather evidence against suspected lawbreakers
PCs Elliott and Bullard try to stop a gang carrying drugs across the country
Officers from the Central Motorway Police Group target cable thieves, a crime that is costing the country more than £1 billion each year and causing chaos to Britain's transport system. Nowadays, when the lights go out on the motorway, it is not just a cost cutting exercise; more often than not, it is because a group of organised metal thieves after the copper cables carrying the electricity to the motorway have struck. The price of copper and precious metal has reached such levels that five hundred metres of cable stolen from the motorway central reservation is worth about £50,000.
The police deal with the growing problem of stolen cars and the damage the drivers cause
The cops are forced to take some drastic action when two young men fail to stop for them. In the Midlands, officers in the Central Motorway Police Group have other worries, as they're force to close the M50 when a pedestrian is catapulted into traffic after being hit trying to help a stranded motorist.
Motorway cops have to listen to every excuse in the book -sometimes they're ridiculous, while other times the cops have to work out fact from fiction.
A high speed pursuit through Bradford City Centre ends in a head-on collision, the motorway cops arrive on the scene to find that the passenger of the car being pursued is bleeding from a serious head wound. Although the driver responsible for the crash has fled, the cop's first priority is caring for the injured. It's only when the Paramedics arrive that they can switch from carers back to cops. On the M1 near Wakefield officers pursue another high speed Golf. In his desperation to get away the driver takes more and more risks. The officers are in a race against time to bring in air support before they're ordered to stop the pursuit. On the M62 Officers must force their way through five miles traffic to help a driver broken down in the fast lane and then have to risk their lives helping a family stuck on the hard shoulder. And the Motorway Cops go to the aid of a 91-year-old World War Two veteran whose car has collided with a truck on the M62. He's hoping to get Holland for a regimental reunion and shows such determination to get there that the officers feel compelled to go the extra mile and to help him out.
Motorway cops Matt Hemingway and Aidy Brown are on patrol just outside Leeds when they find themselves in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Their colleagues need help stopping a stolen car which is getting dangerously close to the city centre - and pursuit-trained officers Matt and Aidy must use all their skills and experience to bring the chase to an end before it gets out of control. Meanwhile in Bradford, PCs Andy Barron and Lindsey Pickles also find themselves in a deadly pursuit. This time an armed gang, intent on settling an old score, have beaten and dragged a man off the street into their car. It is only when the cops threaten to ram the gang's fleeing car and the victim is rescued that a dramatic story starts to emerge, which leads to a major investigation and the conviction of three dangerous men. On the other side of Bradford, officers from the Regional Roads Crime team are on the look-out for drug dealers working the area. It is a slow night until a bad piece of driving changes everything. Cops pull over a suspicious looking car and, after quizzing the driver, they get inside his house and discover a cannabis farm capable of supplying a major drugs operation. Sometimes being in the right place at the right time can lead to some surprising results. When PC Phil Stonebanks stops a suspected stolen truck on the M1 he finds that not everything is quite how it seems. Back on the A1, Matt Hemingway is out on patrol with officer Debbie Collinson. The two cops head out to a three car smash but find the early morning rush hour traffic is against them and a massive tailback is starting to grow. If Debbie and Matt can not get to the accident and clear the road quickly they will have a major incident on their hands.
The West Yorkshire motorway police are not easily surprised or shocked by what they come across on Britain's busiest roads, but when a drunk student in Leeds flags down PCs Dale Anderson and Mick McQuade asking for a lift to France, the two cops quickly realise they have an unusual problem on their hands. Fifty miles away on the A58, an unsuspecting driver escapes with his life when a horse escapes onto a busy main road and collides into his car. As the motorway cops redirect rush hour traffic and call for a vet, they have to make a difficult call on whether to wait for help to arrive or bring in an armed response team to deal with the badly injured horse. There is chaos on the M1 for Acting Sergeant Dale Anderson and his team when he has to deal with a two-car smash and an HGV. It is pitch black, and no-one is providing a clear account of what exactly happened. Adding to the confusion, a convoy of friends who stopped to help out are making it even more difficult for Dale to work out who the drivers are and who caused the accident. Cops from the regional roads crime team are in hot pursuit of a speeding car when intelligence comes through on the police radio that they may want to speak to the driver about more than just driving too fast. There has been another accident on the roads, but this time with tragic consequences when two horses escape from a field and cause a fatal accident. It is late at night and the cops cannot see anything, so they lock down the scene and wait until dawn breaks. At first light the cops and a team of highly-trained accident investigators work methodically through the chain of events that led to a horrific accident involving three cars and two horses on a dark country road.
The Motorway Cops are called to the scene of a head-on collision on the motorway near Birmingham city centre. A woman has died and officers have to clear the road and try to discover the cause of the accident. Keeping the roads safe is a major concern for the Motorway Cops, but sometimes the excuses they hear for poor driving allow them to use their discretion. PCs Martin Smith and Nigel Kearney have to decide whether to 'throw the book' at a trucker who they've caught using his mobile phone while at the wheel of his 44-ton lorry. In Yorkshire, as PCs Jim Duffy and Mick Roffe are forced to chase a man who has run away from them after being handcuffed, PC Matt Fleming faces a difficult choice when the man they have arrested begs the police to let him say goodbye to his girlfriend and their baby daughter before he is returned to jail.
Every year, more than 50 tonnes of heroin and cocaine are sold in Britain, but in the north of England a team of specialist roads crime officers are striking back at the multi-million pound business of moving illegal drugs around the country. And when police from the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Roads Crime Team are not chasing after drug runners and street dealers, they are always ready to catch a thief or two. One hundred and thirty five miles south, officers from the Central Motorway Police Group near Birmingham patrol more than 600 hundred miles of roads. It is one of Britain's busiest motorway networks, where more than 200,000 motorists travel every day. Much like their counterparts in the north, the cops here target criminals using the roads by a sophisticated network of cameras which automatically read number plates to keep a check on cars and their drivers.
A jack-knifed lorry causes a tailback on the A1 motorway leading to an accident between two lorries, leaving a man dead and forcing the motorway cops to shut the road while they investigate. The motorway cops are involved in a high speed chase but a breakdown in radio communications leaves them playing catch up. A lorry driver diverted from the A1 causes major problems when he crashes into a bridge after underestimating the size of his load.
In west Yorkshire, five motorways meet in one of Britain's busiest crossroads. West Yorkshire's motorway cops Craig Warner and Dan Kellet discover some men from Iran in the back of a HGV. PCs Andrew Gudgeon and Craig Taylor respond to a call of crash on the motorway that leads to a manhunt. PCs Michelle Rookes and Brian Harrison arrest a drunk driver. PCs Andrew Gudgeon and Craig Taylor spot a young man running away from a car left in a garage forecourt and give chase on foot. Michelle Rookes and Andy Bell pull over a tailgater and discover he has the incorrect insurance for his journey. PCs Mark Claxton and Martin Willis follow a speeding driver tailgating and measure his speed up to 100mph before pulling him over
Britain's motorways are getting busier and with fewer officers on the road the motorway cops often need the public to tip them off about illegal cars and drivers. PCs Dale Anderson and Doug Lofthouse receive a radio report of an overturned car on the motorway and head off on foot to search for the missing driver. In Bradford, PCs Mike Wroe and Chris Spencer are on a night shift when they spot a car driving erratically. As soon as they take a closer look the driver puts his foot down and they give chase through the back streets and alleyways in the north of the city. The driver abandons the car near a park and as the cops investigate they are approached by the driver, who gives them a confession that takes them by surprise. PCs James Alderson and Paul Crabtree respond to an anonymous tip-off about a car that might be involved in drug dealing. After finding the car and following it, the cops box in the driver at the roadside and quickly apprehend the suspects. While some tip-offs come at a moment's notice, others require more planning and patience. Matt Hemingway and Aidy Brown are parked up just off the M62 bypass in Castleford on the lookout for a driver suspected of having a revoked licence. When they find him, he's surprised to discover that his car is being taken away, leaving him with no mode of transport for his daily commute. Back in Bradford, PC Bob Hoyle responds to a call of burglars making their way from the scene of the crime. When he stops the car full of lads and questions them they deny everything. But what they don't know is that they were caught on camera, proving that help from the public can make all the difference in the cops' fight against crime.
PCs Dale Anderson and Doug Lofthouse receive a radio report of a serious motorbike crash and the cops respond to find a young rider of an off-road bike with life-threatening injuries. An air ambulance lands near the residential street in an attempt to save his life. On the A1 motorway, PCs Michelle Rookes and Brian Harrison are parked up in a layby using a laser gun to check drivers' speeds. When a car speeds past at 98mph, and the driver is pulled over, his name and account of his driving history doesn't match the information on the Police National Computer. The cops begin to get suspicious that the driver isn't who he says he is and after some probing questions he finally confesses, giving the cops a surprising excuse for trying to deceive them. It's close to midnight and PCs Simon Ellis and Mark Maiden are patrolling the M62. They stop a young motorbike rider who explains that his insurance runs out at midnight, but after a quick check the insurance records show that in fact his policy expired the night before. The cops have no option but to confiscate the bike and give the rider a ticket, but not wishing to leave the young man stranded on the motorway Simon and Mark give the rider a lift home. In Dewsbury, PCs Richard Clarke and Andy Howarth are working the night shift when they spot a car drive past with a potentially illegal number plate. While the teenage occupants give the cops some banter the cops smell something suspicious - cannabis. A search turns up a small amount of the Class B drug and when it's confiscated the friendly driver is given a street caution. In South Bradford, there's a report of a serious collision involving another motorbike and a car. PCs James Alderson and Dick Infield respond to find an injured rider being treated in an ambulance and the driver of the car missing. With the rider seriously injured, finding the car driver is critical in investigating who or what was at fault. Back in Dewsbury, Andy and Richard are in purs
Five motorways and two major cities meet in West Yorkshire forming one of the country’s busiest intersections. PC Chris Spencer and Mike Wroe have a pleasant surprise after they stop a vehicle without valid insurance. They also become involved in a pursuit and the driver refuses to give up and rams two police cars before he is arrested.
A father and his two-year-old daughter breakdown in a live lane of a motorway.
