Skip to playerSkip to main content
BRITCOM 4
  • 19 hours ago

Category

📺
TV
Transcript
00:00The Highlands and Islands of Scotland is Britain's biggest beat.
00:07I'm injured. There's a car on fire.
00:10I've got three wounded persons.
00:13It is really easy to underestimate the Highlands.
00:16Patrolling 12,000 square miles of mountains, lochs and islands.
00:22We're going to need a launch to be able to go out and get this boy lifted.
00:27And searching for suspects deep in the wilderness.
00:32The Highland cops must go above and beyond to protect their communities.
00:38We realised it was human remains, so we came back down and phoned the police.
00:42I think in the Highlands, the blue line is very thin.
00:45Tackling traditional rural crimes.
00:47It's absolutely related with shotgun pellet.
00:50It's clear evidence that these birds are being persecuted.
00:53And crimes that plague the nation.
00:56Oh, good effort.
01:00Bags of a white crystalline powder.
01:02If you're getting one person off the street, then it's like you've done your job.
01:07This series goes inside the UK's most distinctive police force.
01:12We are close. We live in close-knit communities.
01:14Alright, let's go.
01:15We look out for each other.
01:17To find out what it takes to walk the beach.
01:21There's monkeys, there's parrots.
01:22It's all completely out of our comfort zone.
01:25And keep the peace.
01:26You just threatened to kill it.
01:27You said you were going to strangle it.
01:29In some of the most beautiful and wild places in the UK.
01:33In the Highlands and Islands, we still have a large number of people missing.
01:47Some have been missing for decades.
01:51Some have been missing for months or years.
01:53When you've walked those glens or those mountains for days and end, you've had hours and hours to think.
02:00You play out the scenarios, think of the information, think about the personality.
02:05And there's no outcome.
02:13The Isle of Lewis and Harris, separated from the Scottish mainland by over 20 miles of open sea and exposed to Arctic winds.
02:24In winter, this island can become unreachable.
02:28It's a two and a half hour ferry ride or a 40 minute plane ride from the mainland.
02:34Frequently in the winter, it's cut off for a day, maybe even a couple of days at a time.
02:40PC Callan McLeod's usual beat is a hundred miles away in Inverness.
02:46But today, he's travelled back to the island of his birth to assist with a tough assignment.
02:52Yeah, this edge, yeah.
02:54I came on duty that morning and the call out came for the mountain rescue team to head to the island of Lewis to assist with a missing person search.
03:04I was acutely aware of the weather and the ferries to just make sure we got there.
03:1148 hours ago, a local 16-year-old, Alexander Benga, went missing in the island's capital, Stornoway.
03:19The young person, as a teenager, they're vulnerable.
03:24We are concerned about them.
03:26Hence the reason we've had a number of officers deployed from the mainland to assist the local Coast Guard and the fire service.
03:3348 hours is a long time to be missing, especially in this weather.
03:37The police are deeply concerned for Alexander.
03:43We're just holding the line for a minute.
03:47It's very cold. I'm in a lot of layers and I can feel the cold.
03:52It's quite dry right now, but if it turns a bit wet, that's really hard to keep warm in that kind of weather.
03:59The urgency is just tenfold. You want to find this young lad and you want to find him as quick as you can because to think of not finding him is just awful.
04:16The area we've been through is relatively open-ish. The next bit thickens up, so we're going to just pull all our numbers in.
04:29We're going to have to just close it up, which means the search is going to take longer.
04:32On an island of over 800 square miles, the police focus their search effort on the area where Alexander was last seen.
04:47The grounds of Lew's Castle, just outside of town.
04:51We're going to use the edge of the river, but let's expect this, we'll never keep a line.
04:56We need to now get more shoulder, not quite shoulder to shoulder, but we need eye sight.
04:59Just fan out so you've got an eyeball on your neighbour.
05:04Right folks, fan out.
05:10I know the castle grounds having grown up there.
05:14It was challenging terrain. People were crawling, people were climbing.
05:18It was not easy searching.
05:23There, you can't see where you're walking.
05:26It takes a lot of energy to keep your body warm.
05:29You're tired, but you don't want to stop searching until you find them and you bring them home.
05:36Moving methodically through the dense undergrowth.
05:39Hold up boys! Hold up!
05:41The officers regularly stop to investigate places Alexander might be sheltering.
05:45Before your mind completely goes with hypothermia, you dig, you seek shelter.
05:52I've seen people bury into troughs, under trees, dug under soil.
05:58They want to bury, which then makes it more difficult for us to find.
06:02But there is also the thing where I've seen it in my service where somebody's taken their clothes off, they think they're so hot.
06:07As well as looking for Alexander himself, the officers hunt for smaller clues like clothing or belongings, which could indicate where he's gone.
06:21But the more the snow falls, the harder their task becomes.
06:25Now with the snow, it's hiding things that might otherwise give us just a hint or a clue to go.
06:32Let's have a look in there.
06:34I will move out. Why not?
06:36There's one clue at the front of the officers' minds.
06:41When he went missing, Alexander was wearing a distinctive red jacket.
06:47But the final sighting of him on CCTV shows he had discarded it outside.
06:53If found, the jacket could provide a vital indication of the direction he took.
07:00Hold!
07:02I'm just going to check this.
07:04PC Katie Johnston spots a splash of colour in the bushes.
07:11There's something orange down here.
07:13The entire time I'm searching, that question's rolling through my head.
07:19Where are they? Are they okay?
07:21Are we going to come across them and they are still alive and need some assistance?
07:26I just need to check out.
07:27Or am I going to come across somebody that has unfortunately passed away?
07:33And I think that pretty much spins through my head those questions the entire time I search.
07:39I think it's a plastic bag, but...
07:44Yeah, it's an orange bag.
07:46It's like a thicker gardening kind of bag.
07:50With no indication Alexander had a bag on him when he disappeared, it's a red herring.
07:55Nothing?
07:57OK.
08:02As the day wears on, the weather deteriorates.
08:06But there's still hope Alexander may have found a way to stay alive.
08:11Not least because he has a keen interest in outdoor survival.
08:15We know that he likes bushcraft and being in the outdoors.
08:20But the clock's ticking.
08:22Police are the dog. Anyone hiding? Show yourself.
08:25Police dog's searching. She finds your men still. You come to no harm.
08:32Getting quite disoriented, having to keep checking them out to see where we are.
08:38The dog's getting tired.
08:41If he's out here then he's really, really cold.
08:45It's time critical.
08:48The weather is not the only factor counting against them.
08:53It's only half past three in the afternoon.
08:56But this far north, it's already getting dark.
09:00We'll call it here.
09:01By a quarter to five, they're forced to call it a day.
09:06We're now at the point where everybody's tired.
09:09We need to get them fed, watered, rested overnight.
09:11And then sticking back, back out first thing in the morning to be out in sub-zero, temperature searching.
09:18The odds are now really stacked firmly against this young man that the temperatures overnight, the weather, he's not had any shelter.
09:25It's an unfortunate state of affairs at present.
09:44Of all the spectacular landscapes policed by N Division, perhaps none is as dramatic and potentially hazardous as the Isle of Skye.
09:55Today, PC's Anna and Rory have an urgent call to assist someone who has come a cropper.
10:02We're on our way to a call for a female who has injured her ankle on a walk somewhere.
10:11So, we're on our way up to see if we can help her.
10:14It is just before the old man of store car parts, so she shouldn't be too far.
10:21The old man of store is a strange pinnacle of rock formed from an ancient volcanic plug.
10:28It's featured in films including Prometheus and the Wicker Man.
10:32It's very distinctive. You probably would have seen it all over social media.
10:35It's probably one of the most top visited places that tourists come.
10:40Although it's not a mountain, a lot of people do find themselves in difficulty up there.
10:45And they might not have envisaged it being as rough a terrain as it is.
10:51It doesn't look too far from the road, so people think it's easy, but actually, it's not a long walk, but you need to be reasonably fit.
11:03People can be inappropriately clothed for the weather and for the conditions, and they can injure themselves.
11:09It's not yet clear how badly injured the woman is. There's no time to lose.
11:15But driving on Skye can be tricky, even for the local cops.
11:19It's this first bit which is bad.
11:23Then once we get off, like over the crest of the hill, it's alright, the road straightens out, but...
11:29And tourists stopping in the middle of the road don't help.
11:32What the...
11:35Move your car!
11:38What's the heck?
11:40Stupid.
11:41Really stupid, that is.
11:44As much of a beautiful area as Skye is, you still need to act with some common sense,
11:49and stopping in the middle of the road to take a photo of a cow...
11:53Not what I would recommend doing.
11:56Typical of the season, people parking in the road.
11:59The problem is, it's a bad bit of the road, because if I...
12:03If somebody goes to overtake and comes into my side of the road...
12:08At the car park by the hill, a local ambulance crew is already on scene.
12:17Morphine.
12:18Morphine.
12:19Do you want that?
12:20Yeah.
12:21What is it? What's that?
12:22A mobiliser.
12:23Mobiliser.
12:25That's pretty much it.
12:26Is that everything? Cool.
12:27Yeah, we've got most of the gear there.
12:29The woman, Angela, is just a short distance away, up a muddy slope.
12:35It was no means a mountain.
12:37It was more up a steep sort of embankment leading up to a waterfall just before the old man of store.
12:45We went up to provide assistance with ambulance, and again, we weren't sure what the extent of her injuries were.
12:50Angela is conscious, but unable to walk, as she has injured her leg.
12:56With her is her partner, Paul.
12:59Like hundreds of others on the island, they are here on holiday.
13:02We were supposed to be going out on a boat trip out on Skye from Portary, and it was cancelled.
13:07So I said to her, well, let's just go up there and go and have a look at the waterfall up there.
13:11And then we saw this one and we stopped and we thought we'd have a look and crazily, stupidly decided to climb up there.
13:16You must see so many people that do this.
13:18It's a daily occurrence. It's nothing to be embarrassed about.
13:21I landed on my bottom coming down with my leg under my bottom, I think.
13:28Not your finest moment.
13:29They were visibly shaken. As beautiful as Skye is and as beautiful as the area is that they were in, you still need to be careful.
13:41I think due to the fact that it was heavy rainfall at the time, it could just take the slightest step in the wrong place.
13:49They had suitable footwear on, which in some cases you find that that's not the case.
13:55But in this instance, I think it was just accidental and really unfortunate.
14:01It's not far to the ambulance, but the path is treacherous.
14:06To get her down safely, it's time to call in the experts.
14:10Mount and Rescue has been contacted from one of our colleagues back at Portree Station.
14:14But essentially we've got Mount and Rescue team assembling at the moment,
14:17and they will be joining us in the next 15 to 20 minutes, all being well.
14:21Although we're not that far from the car park, it's still quite a boggy stretch of a walk.
14:26So, yeah, just to prevent any further injuries to ourselves or actually the patient,
14:31Mount and Rescue are very good at coming out and helping with that.
14:33So we just wait for their arrival.
14:36After a short wait, the Mount and Rescue team arrives and swings into action.
14:42I'm sorry you've got a lift in there. I'm sorry.
14:45So what I'm trying to do is get your bum in here first of all, okay?
14:48And so what I want you to do is try and stand up on that one.
14:51And then when I say go, we'll go, okay?
14:55Can somebody come in behind her and grab her shoulders?
14:58Yep. Did you join her?
15:00Yep.
15:02Three, two, one.
15:03Three, two, one.
15:04That's it. That's well done.
15:05That's all done.
15:06Thank you, Dad.
15:07That's great.
15:08All right.
15:09Okay, so we're just going to slide you to bog and you down on the grass.
15:12Any problems? Give us a shout, okay?
15:13I will.
15:14Cool.
15:15All right.
15:29With the patient safely off the hill, Anna radios base with an update.
15:33Hi.
15:34Yeah, the call we're attached to, the female's been taken off the hill by mountain rescue.
15:40I'm just going to be conveying her to Broadford Hospital, potential broken ankle.
15:45We'll hand you over in.
15:46We'll go back over.
15:47Okay.
15:48I'm going to follow you all right, Angela.
15:51You all right?
15:52You all right?
15:55Broadford is the main hospital on Skye.
15:58Depending on how bad her injury is, the woman may need to go to Inverness for surgery.
16:06Not really a good start to their holiday, bless them, but at least she's in safe hands now.
16:10Yeah.
16:11Mountain rescue up here, they're really helpful.
16:13About most days and potentially multiple times per day, especially in the season.
16:18So they drop whatever they're doing, whatever job they're doing, or if it's their days off,
16:23and they're very quick to come and assist us, which is very much appreciated.
16:28If we hadn't have communicated effectively with each other, and we hadn't worked well together
16:34as the ambulance and the mountain rescue, we just wouldn't have been able to do that job.
16:38They certainly seemed like they were very grateful for the help that was provided to them.
16:44Quite often we don't get that kind of reception in the various kind of jobs that we go to,
16:48but to go to a job and for somebody to be genuinely thankful for the help you gave them is nice.
16:54Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for coming out again today.
16:57On Lewis, local teenager Alexander Benga has now been missing in the snow for 72 hours.
17:07Specialist Search Advisor Dougie Wilson has travelled from his base in Inverness to coordinate the search effort.
17:14We're looking for a 16-year-old lad last being seen in the vicinity of the castle grounds.
17:20The search involves Coast Guard, the fire service, and 50 police officers, including a dog team and a specialist mountain rescue unit.
17:30It's one of the biggest search operations on Lewis in years.
17:35The search involves Coast Guard, the fire service, and 50 police officers, including a dog team and a specialist mountain rescue unit.
17:42It's one of the biggest search operations on Lewis in years.
17:50He was wearing a beige jumper, black jeans, and trainers,
17:55not kind of suitably dressed for the weather.
17:57He did have a red jacket, which has been discarded.
18:00We covered quite a lot of ground yesterday.
18:02Today, just it will be same again, more kind of rural, kind of open land searching,
18:08within a kilometre of kind of place last seen.
18:10Dougie splits them into five teams, each of which is assigned to search a numbered sector.
18:16Today, the teams will be, so the police MRT, police search team that were yesterday in A1, A2,
18:22you'll be just going back to 16, 17, where yous were, go and do your sectors,
18:27and then we're going to, in the ops room, just come up with more areas to go.
18:31The police mountain rescue team is sent back to the castle grounds where Alexander was last seen.
18:39We're just going to go back there, do that big open area, and then the tree line all the way around section 16 into 17,
18:52and we'll see where we are from there.
18:54Whilst the search teams are on the ground,
18:56Dougie updates senior commanders back in the mainland on the progress so far.
19:02The ground has been terrible at best. The guys have been kind of knee deep in water.
19:08Police helicopter was contacted to come out today. They couldn't lift due to the weather.
19:12OK, so in terms of that one kilometre, in terms of where we are, the completion of that, what does that look like?
19:19Yeah.
19:2080%, 90%?
19:21No.
19:22Complete.
19:23No, I would say 60%.
19:25Using CCTV and local witnesses, police have managed to piece together Alexander's movements before he disappeared.
19:34The footage raises further questions about the teenager's state of mind.
19:54It seems a bit strange given that some people are defrosting their cars, yet he's stripping off.
19:59You'll see his demeanour there as he looks a bit distressed holding his head in his hands.
20:04A minute later, just round the corner, again here, you'll see him head in hands, looking a bit distressed.
20:11It's worth mentioning there that Alexander's very clearly not been following main roads.
20:17He is actively going out his way to take long way rounds, potentially off roads, and well, he doesn't want to be seen for whatever reason,
20:24but that's certainly what the outcome of our enquiries are showing.
20:28I'll speak to you, Mark.
20:29Thank you for the pause.
20:30Cheers.
20:31It's one, two degrees, and he's stripping off.
20:36It's all quite concerning, to be honest.
20:40The CCTV enquiries gave us a really good insight.
20:44Are we looking for someone who is happily just wandering off and just wanting to get away,
20:49or is it someone that we need to be more concerned?
20:52So it certainly increased our risk level and our concern for him.
20:57The police have established Alexander hasn't left the island by ferry or plane,
21:03and there's no sign of foul play, so their working assumption is he's still outside in the snow.
21:09Turn on the mic, and we'll go back down and do this bit.
21:16Police experts use statistics to calculate the most likely place a missing person will be found.
21:22We have books that we refer to within the police search world which help us with statistical information about previous missing people,
21:30areas in which they've previously been found, radiuses in which they have travelled.
21:36We'll sector that area off, you know, best as we can using natural boundaries, pathways,
21:40and get searchers into these areas, and then we'll push out from there.
21:45All right, let's go.
21:48In this circumstance, we set it at one kilometre, and the rationale was 50% of missing people
22:01with our missing persons category had previously been found within one kilometre.
22:06On the other side of these upturned trees, they're fine.
22:15It's really important we don't deviate from that one kilometre.
22:17We ensure that that one kilometre is complete to the highest level of confidence and standard that we can
22:23before we move on.
22:25While the search teams continue the hunt, back at base, Dougie gets some bad news.
22:36Yeah.
22:37No bother.
22:38Erm...
22:39OK.
22:40We'll...
22:41I'll chat to you about it later.
22:43No bother.
22:44Cheers.
22:45So I think the plan's now potentially us to go back tomorrow,
22:50because they're worried about the storm.
22:53A large storm is on the way, expected to prevent all travel to and from the island for days.
23:03Both Dougie and the mountain rescue team are needed back on the mainland,
23:07so they'll have to leave Lewis and the last ferry tomorrow, rather than risk being stranded.
23:12We'd all rather stay. I would rather stay.
23:15I worked on my computer till half eleven last night.
23:18Yeah.
23:19Went to sleep, woke up about five.
23:21First thing I did was check.
23:23Is he been found yet?
23:24Yeah.
23:25No.
23:26Right, OK.
23:27With the second full day of the search drawing to a close,
23:30it's becoming even more important that Alexander is found,
23:34before the specialist police team has to leave the island.
23:38When you have the responsibility of being in charge of it, you want to find him.
23:42But moreover, I think about his mum, I think about his family, who are missing their son.
24:01Back on the mainland, in Glencoe, PC Stephen Cooper is on his way to an urgent traffic incident.
24:09Go ahead.
24:10Go ahead.
24:11Go ahead.
24:12Go ahead.
24:13So we've had a report of a three-vehicle RTC I think it is now, road traffic collision.
24:21Basically, a motorcyclist in two cars have collided.
24:24Motorcyclist is lying in the road injured.
24:26So, that's what we've got at the moment.
24:32Yeah, I'm just passing the Glencoe Visitor Centre,
24:35so maybe five, ten minutes.
24:36The accident is on the A82,
24:39the main road between Glasgow and Fort William.
24:42It's almost entirely a single carriageway,
24:45and there's no other way round,
24:47so any kind of incident can cause huge disruption.
24:52It's almost a daily occurrence,
24:53so we get a road accident on the A82 somewhere in Loch Abar,
24:57maybe straight out, road closed,
24:59first aid kit out and just treat what we can,
25:01get people stable and wait for an ambulance to arrive.
25:05I'm not even sure that an ambulance has been called yet,
25:08so obviously the worst case would be
25:09that one of the parties in this accident
25:12is seriously or fatally injured and dies.
25:18As Stephen makes for the scene as quickly as he can,
25:22it isn't long before he hits the tailback caused by the crash.
25:26But traffic is still flowing in the opposite direction,
25:29which is slowing him down.
25:31The road is very busy today.
25:34Unfortunately, somebody's trying to direct traffic in
25:36and be helpful at the front,
25:37but they're now preventing me from getting to the scene.
25:38Stephen is the first emergency responder here.
25:54Any injuries or anything like that?
26:04Just finished with your bag and my breast went into my wrist.
26:07OK, no problem. I'll come and speak to you soon.
26:10Luckily, an off-duty paramedic has caught up in the tailback
26:14and has stepped in to help.
26:1636-year-old motorcyclist head-on with this car.
26:18OK.
26:19Query left arm fracture, query pelvis.
26:21OK.
26:21He's been completely alert and orientated the whole time.
26:23You need any kit or anything?
26:24No, I don't have any kit.
26:25I've got some stuff.
26:26There's not much I can do.
26:27I've got, like, a pelvic splint and stuff.
26:29I mean, he's fine lying as he is.
26:31OK, that's fine.
26:31This guy's just got a query right arm injury.
26:34I'm not particularly worried about it.
26:35Yeah, he's fine.
26:36Yeah, maybe a bit of a shotgun in there.
26:37Traffic is the worst.
26:38Yeah, if he's sitting there at the moment,
26:40the traffic can stop.
26:42Hopefully the ambulance won't be too long.
26:43I just saw the Glencoe one going up to Fort William
26:45not long ago on blue lights, so I don't know.
26:48Right, I'm just going to go and give some updates to people
26:49and we'll...
26:50Control 3 to Whiskey.
26:56Go ahead.
26:58Yeah, apologies.
26:59I'm struggling for handheld reception at this Locus.
27:01I'm on my base unit.
27:03The Locus for this road accident is at Alpnafay
27:06in 82 in Glencoe.
27:08Looks like a motorcyclist's gone head-on with a Ford.
27:12The motorcyclist's lying in the ditch at the side of the road
27:14at the moment, conscious and breathing.
27:15There's an off-duty paramedic tending to him.
27:17He's got a query pelvic injury and a query arm injury.
27:22But as I say, he's conscious and breathing.
27:24I've got the road closed at the moment
27:25just because of debris and cars in the carriageway.
27:29Have we got an ETA for ambulance at all?
27:31I think we're going to do that 40 minutes.
27:33Yeah, that's all received.
27:35Here, we're a good hour to two hours away from a good hospital.
27:42Not that the hospital in Fort William is bad,
27:44but the hospital in Glasgow has got better equipment and staffing,
27:46so he needs to get there rather than there.
27:49Satisfied there are no life-threatening injuries,
27:52Stephen's next priority is to investigate what caused the crash.
27:56I don't know what fuel is with this car
27:59because I'm assuming it's head-on with this car and then...
28:02Bounced into that, maybe.
28:03So I can only tell you what happened from my point of view
28:06is we were just sitting here with our blinker on to turn in here
28:10and he smashed into the back of us.
28:12I have no clue if he got rear-ended.
28:15Who's the motorbike?
28:16Yeah, so I was... I'm in this car heading this way.
28:18He was behind me.
28:20He... I think that's why it clipped me.
28:22Like, I think he might have been trying to go around me.
28:24But all we heard was the big smash and him go flying.
28:27So I don't know, like, if... I don't know how that car got damaged.
28:31Right.
28:32Yeah, it was involved, yeah.
28:33Yeah, no, no, I was...
28:34We had been stopped for, like...
28:35A couple of minutes trying to turn in.
28:36Yeah, like, at least a minute before it happened.
28:38It wasn't likely, yeah, like...
28:39So we were quite shocked.
28:40The owner of the black Ford seems to have the best evidence of all.
28:46Jean, you've got dash cam?
28:47Yes.
28:47Is that working?
28:48Yes.
28:49OK, well, that's perfect.
28:50That'll explain exactly what's happened, so...
28:51The dash cam video could show who was at fault,
28:55but until he can view it,
28:57Stephen can't be sure if anyone needs to be charged with a crime.
29:06On Lewis, 16-year-old Alexander Benga has now been missing for four days.
29:14With a storm approaching,
29:16the police mountain rescue team have one last chance to find him
29:20before they have to return to the mainland.
29:23The last good weather window,
29:26quite a lot of us are going to get the last ferry off the island
29:29before the island effectively is cut off for 24 hours.
29:34We would dearly like to find this young man,
29:38whether he's alive or he's succumbed to the elements.
29:43Before they leave,
29:44PC Callan McLeod and his team have been sent to search a new area.
29:53We're out with the immediate search sectors and boundaries
29:57because there's information come from the family
29:59that the young man that's missing liked to come to Gallus Hill.
30:02It's a natural viewpoint back over across the town of Stornaway.
30:09I think we might try and do what we did yesterday for another once round
30:12and then branch off through the past and with Caelan said,
30:15the other side of that thing.
30:17Because the terrain's pretty difficult.
30:19You're not going to get much search and done going down a hill.
30:21After days of snow and sleet,
30:25the weather conditions have finally improved.
30:28But with 70-mile-an-hour winds forecast,
30:31the respite will be short-lived.
30:34It's beautiful today.
30:36The sun's shining,
30:37but the clouds are actually gathering for the storm burke tomorrow.
30:41This is the lull before the storm.
30:42Facing a race against time before the storm hits,
30:52Caelan uses his local knowledge from growing up on the island.
30:56We're never going to get all the way around us in the time that we've got.
31:00So there's a couple more points of interest out at the River Creed.
31:02There's an old bothy and a cave.
31:04The young man, we've been told,
31:07got an interest in the outdoors and bushcraft.
31:09So caves and little old huts
31:12are definitely places that may be of interest to him.
31:16Their first stop is a cave said to have been the secret hideout
31:20of a 19th-century outlaw called Macintrónich.
31:25Yeah, it's literally in here.
31:27Again, there is footfall here on the ice.
31:30You know, the snow's melted and then frozen again last night.
31:34So there's been people here.
31:44No, it's just...
31:46All the rubbish is really old.
31:48It's nothing fresh.
31:49We'll have a look at the ones up.
31:51Far they're up.
31:54If there's a trampled path,
31:56I'll have a wee look round this little nook in here.
32:00I don't think there's anything else,
32:06any other points of interest up here, so...
32:09No luck.
32:10No luck.
32:12Callan guides the team to another hidden spot
32:15from Lewis's past.
32:16This would have been a salmon watcher's hut
32:26for somebody who would watch
32:28to make sure people basically weren't poaching the salmon.
32:33So there's a foam mat, a camping mat here,
32:35but it's obviously been here for some time,
32:38and there's nothing...
32:39There's no recent rubbish
32:41or something with a date on it
32:43or a time or a use-by.
32:46There's nothing that would link it to our inquiry.
32:49Running out of time,
32:51the team searches as many paths as they can.
32:57There's no footprints here.
32:59Nobody's been there.
33:00And nobody's been here probably for a day or two,
33:02but looks at it since this snow's fallen.
33:07Callan knows of one more spot,
33:10a disused bothy hidden by the water's edge.
33:13They're looking for any sign
33:15Alexander might have stayed here.
33:19Hello? Police?
33:24Inside, some scattered tins.
33:27It's got an expiry of April 25,
33:33so it's still got...
33:35There's a bit of growth, though,
33:37so it's probably not...
33:38It's certainly not the last few days.
33:47The weather's on the turn.
33:49We need to sort of gather the resources
33:51and make sure we get back to the mainland.
33:53This is going to be one of these ones
33:54where we are now...
33:55We're going to have to depart.
33:58After three hard days,
34:00it's time to head back to the mainland.
34:03Although other police officers based on the island
34:05will continue the search,
34:07it's a deflating end for Callan and his team.
34:11It might end up being one of these missing persons
34:13where there isn't a happy outcome
34:16and or there isn't a resolution
34:19in terms of finding the young man
34:21even if he's succumbed to the elements.
34:27You feel sad being able to go home and hug your children
34:30when there's somebody's child still out there missing.
34:34You put yourself in the shoes of the parent
34:38and it's just awful.
34:41It's really hard to imagine
34:42how you would feel if your loved one was missing
34:46and you didn't know where they were
34:48or if they were OK.
34:50In Glencoe,
35:08PC Stephen Cooper is dealing with a serious collision
35:11involving two cars and a motorbike.
35:14A regular ambulance and an air ambulance have been called
35:18but they still haven't arrived
35:20and Stephen has no other backup.
35:23Right now the challenges are I'm here on my own.
35:26Again, that's the age-old challenge I've got.
35:29So there's very little I can do.
35:29I can't manage traffic through this scene.
35:31It's too dangerous.
35:32The priority is to get casualties away from scene
35:34having been assessed by an ambulance.
35:35The heli-med is expected in approximately 13 minutes now.
35:43Their ETA was 15.30 and it's now 15.17
35:45so any time soon hopefully.
35:47And they might even arrive here
35:48before the actual road ambulance do
35:50which would be quite good.
35:53While Stephen waits for the ambulances,
35:56he also needs to try to work out
35:57what caused the collision.
36:00He'll review the dash cam footage later
36:02but for now, the witnesses seem clear about what happened.
36:07Looks like the white Volvo's been trying to turn
36:10right into the lay-by here.
36:12The motorcyclist's been travelling behind them
36:14and has gone to overtake into the path of this board
36:18and gone head-on into it.
36:21Come off his bike when he landed where he's landed.
36:23So yeah, looks like a dodgy overtake, essentially.
36:28Finally, back-up arrives.
36:33Paramedics, the fire service
36:34and colleagues from the road's policing unit.
36:37Casually just right in the corner of the ambulance will be on.
36:40When the helicopter arrives
36:42to airlift the biker to hospital,
36:44Stephen has to keep tight control of the scene.
36:51Guys, everyone back behind that van, please.
36:55Because people need a medical treatment and privacy, all right,
36:57so everyone back behind the van.
36:59Go ahead.
37:00Quicker.
37:01Move.
37:02Back to your cars.
37:03There's no attraction to be seen.
37:07I said back behind the van.
37:11Both of you, shift.
37:13Yes.
37:14Does it take...
37:14Is it rocket science, is it?
37:16Do you want lifted for obstruction?
37:18Move now.
37:19I said behind the van.
37:21It's not difficult, is it?
37:22Don't even argue with me, all right?
37:27If you want lifted, go for it.
37:32Fortunately, when you land a helicopter on a road,
37:33it attracts quite a bit of attention,
37:35and we don't really want attention for helicopters on the road
37:37because the casualty needs a bit of privacy, you know?
37:40They're getting loaded into a helicopter,
37:41it's because they've got serious injuries,
37:42and some people don't respect that.
37:45Still waiting for the helicopter to take off,
37:48and having taken statements from all witnesses,
37:51it's time to finish clearing the road.
37:53But with one of its tyres punctured in the accident,
37:56the white Volvo's not going anywhere yet.
38:00How are you guys getting on?
38:01Well, you know, just trying to figure out the next steps.
38:04So have you spoken to your hire car company?
38:06Is there an actual tyre in this car?
38:08Sometimes there is.
38:09Like, enough to get back to Glasgow?
38:10It'll get you somewhere where you can at least sit and get dry
38:13and sort something else out rather than sit in here.
38:16OK.
38:17Try and reverse out into this bit here,
38:19and we'll sort it out for you.
38:36All-star servants here.
38:38Yeah!
38:38Ah, no complaints.
38:41We can make you...
38:41Write your review on Yelp if you'd like.
38:45Love it.
38:46OK, here, let me pull it down.
38:48Are you from here?
38:49Yeah.
38:51Yep.
38:51That's a lovely part of the world.
38:53It is when it's nice weather.
38:55I'm having strongly mixed feelings about it at the moment.
38:58Yeah, so you just drop maximum 50 mile an hour.
39:00Yeah.
39:02Just take it slow, because in the wet, it'll be even...
39:04Even worse.
39:05Yeah.
39:06Now you've done a magic job there.
39:07Definitely earned your beer tonight, Stephen.
39:11Yeah.
39:13The paramedics are now ready to transfer the biker to the air ambulance
39:17and fly him to hospital.
39:22At the moment, all the condition we know is that potential pelvic injury and a broken arm.
39:28We'll have to get a medical update from the hospital at some point tonight to figure out what exactly extent of injury is.
39:34You're always lucky if you walk away from a motorcycle accident when you've collided with the back of a car.
39:38It's all come to a conclusion, a good conclusion, because everyone's alive.
39:43It's good.
39:43Yeah.
39:44Quite happy.
39:46The road has now been shut for almost three hours.
39:50The tailback stretches for over a mile.
39:53But with it finally reopened, Stephen has one more job to do, confirming once and for all what caused this collision.
40:03The dash cam footage quite clearly shows the motorcyclist going way faster than he should have been
40:21and not noticing the car stopping in front of him, which is clearly indicating and not slamming on the brakes.
40:28And then he's obviously hit the car that stopped and bounced into the path of the oncoming vehicle with the dash cam,
40:34at which point the dash cam is cut out.
40:37It's great footage because it tells us exactly what's happened.
40:41You can't deny it.
40:42The footage is there.
40:42The motorcyclist will be reported for careless driving, which could result in points in his licence or a ban.
40:50For him, the outcome could have been much worse.
40:54This kind of accident's all too common on these roads.
40:57Just people are quite often looking at the view instead of looking at the road.
41:02And that then causes issues when they don't see what's happening in front of them.
41:07He could have died.
41:12Three hundred miles further north, closer to Norway than to Edinburgh,
41:21lie the remotest of the British Isles, Shetland.
41:26Up here, it's a small community.
41:28Everyone knows each other.
41:30And if you don't know them directly, you probably know them through a connection that you've got.
41:35You know their mum, their granny, their cousin, whatever.
41:38Fresh from police college, 25-year-old PC Liam Brannan has returned to his native islands as a cop.
41:46That's what I got in the colleges.
41:48What are you going to do up in Shetland?
41:49Go to arrest sheep?
41:50Yeah.
41:51I'd be a question if I took a sheep into custody in cuffs.
41:57Many of his colleagues are from the mainland, a 14-hour ferry ride away,
42:02leading to the occasional language barrier.
42:04It might be quiet most of the year, but tonight, Liam's busy.
42:21Lerwick is preparing to celebrate its annual Viking Fire Festival, Up Helya.
42:27And the bars are filling up with islanders and tourists having a good time.
42:33Let's see how you're getting on.
42:34No weather at all?
42:34Yeah.
42:35I think we're all right. We're barely busy, but everything that would be good.
42:38Nice.
42:39As the alcohol flows freely...
42:41Say hi to Sarah.
42:43Hi to Sarah.
42:46Liam and his colleague, Sergeant David Carmichael, patrol the town centre.
42:51It's always a good night in here.
42:53I quite enjoy my night in here as well.
42:55Live music.
42:56Somebody's grabbed an accordion.
42:59Everyone's merry, happy, no issues, so it's all good.
43:03With no trouble from the party-goers...
43:06There's nothing worse than somebody there enjoying themselves when you're no.
43:09I know.
43:10Their main concern is that nobody has an accident.
43:14You know that there's going to be people spilling out on the streets.
43:17They're going to be under the influence of alcohol.
43:19Invariably, somebody's going to end up on the road.
43:21We need to make sure that the roads are safe
43:24for the people that are out there enjoying themselves.
43:28There's that car with its lights on again.
43:30Where?
43:31No.
43:32As people spill onto the streets at closing time,
43:35they spot a red pickup truck driving with only its side lights on.
43:40There you go.
43:40It's probably the worst way to pull them over.
43:57Windy's fine, mate. Windy's all right.
43:59You all right?
44:01Just put your little bit of lights on.
44:02Oh, I'm sorry.
44:03Yeah?
44:04Absolutely fine.
44:05Yeah, just make sure they're on, that's all.
44:06OK.
44:07Is he all right?
44:08Right.
44:08You OK?
44:09Yeah.
44:10Yeah?
44:11OK.
44:11Any concern?
44:12No.
44:13We'll have a chat with him anyway.
44:16Just stay there the new mate.
44:17I'm going to come round and have a quick chat, all right?
44:20I don't know if it's me or if he's slurring his words a wee bit.
44:24Go and have a chat.
44:27All right, buddy.
44:29If you do us a favour, go and switch it off, please.
44:31Jump out for a wee sec and have a quick chat.
44:33See running down this in the street in front of everybody, mate.
44:34It's just a chat.
44:36Can we have a wee seat in the back of the van?
44:37Aye.
44:38We'll get you a wee seat so that if you don't wear the covers,
44:41don't cover that, it's all right.
44:42Liam, just open the back and let them in.
44:43Sorry, pal.
44:44Just have a wee seat in there.
44:47Have you had any vink tonight, mate?
44:48Mate, I've had one.
44:50Take it to your honesty.
44:51Aye, mate, I've had a vink.
44:53Fuck it.
44:53Pick why the boys up for the chance.
44:54All right, mate.
44:55No worries.
44:56Liam's got all your details here, then he's going to get through it.
44:59Are you going to pass the breathalys, do you reckon, mate?
45:02OK.
45:03Is there a contact number for yourself?
45:04I don't know, mate, but I'm on bail, mate.
45:06Come on.
45:07Are you?
45:07Mate, please, please.
45:08What for?
45:09It was a serious assault like five years ago.
45:12Mate, please.
45:13We've just got a job to do, all right?
45:15That's all we're doing.
45:17Canny.
45:18Corner, Canny.
45:19That's no an option for us.
45:21Mate, I'm going to get started.
45:24He started to blame us for the potential of him maybe losing his job,
45:29losing his licence, but at the end of the day,
45:31you're kind of used to that and you're thinking,
45:33I didn't drive the car.
45:35It was him that drove the vehicle.
45:37To be honest with you,
45:39it's kind of a water off a duck's back after nearly 18 and a half years of doing this.
45:43What will happen next?
45:44Right, we are going to do the roadside breath test.
45:46Oh, listen, we're going to do the roadside breath test, right?
45:50I suspect that you've been driving whilst under the influence
45:53and you might be over the limit for alcohol in your blood.
45:55All right?
45:56Listen.
45:56I had two pints when I had my endgame.
45:58I went to Saffron.
46:00I had the endgame, I had two pints, mate.
46:02Right, okay.
46:03And I thought, mate, I'm actually sick.
46:05Right, have you had anything to eat or drink in the last 20 minutes?
46:08No, no, no, no.
46:09No, okay.
46:11Any worries.
46:13Do you agree to provide the specimen of breath for a breath test
46:15and if not, what is your reason for refusing?
46:18I don't get any reason.
46:19Do you agree?
46:20I agree.
46:21Yes.
46:21No, no, no, I don't agree, actually.
46:23If you don't agree, I'm going to arrest you.
46:25You've got to arrest me anyway.
46:27I'm asking you a question.
46:29So it's one long, hard, steady breath into the tube.
46:32We'll hold it.
46:32I'll hold it, bud.
46:33He holds it.
46:34Until it clicks and I'll tell you otherwise.
46:37That's it.
46:37Right, okay.
46:39Right, if you look, there's a favour.
46:45If you look, you've failed.
46:46I know.
46:46You've failed the breath test, okay?
46:48I'm arresting you for drink driving.
46:51Anything you do say will be noted and may be used in evidence.
46:53Do you understand?
46:54Yes.
46:54Okay.
46:55Although the man failed the roadside breath test,
46:58the result isn't precise enough to be used as evidence in court.
47:04They'll have to test him again at the police station
47:06before deciding whether or not he should be charged.
47:09Right, just calm yourself down.
47:10Oh, f***.
47:10Please, please calm down.
47:14Chill out, bud.
47:15The Cairngorms.
47:29In winter, this mountain range is one of the coldest parts of the UK
47:34and conditions can change with little warning.
47:39The Cairngorm area is quite a mountainous area.
47:43It's quite high altitude.
47:45In the wintertime, you're going to have a lot of snow, ice,
47:49you know, cold conditions, mostly sub-zero temperatures,
47:52and it can get very, very dark.
47:58The forecast for the next few days is supposed to be light snow,
48:02but quite consistent over the next 72 hours.
48:06Tonight, PC Jamie Embry is out on patrol with his colleague, Ross Nairn.
48:14The weather here can change.
48:16In a couple of hours, you can go from what it is now
48:18to thick, deep snow, yeah, white-out conditions.
48:23Five miles north of Abbey Moor,
48:25they pass a stationary vehicle on the other side of the road.
48:33They've got no lights on the rear.
48:35They had lights on the front.
48:40I can only imagine it's a breakdown of sorts,
48:43but they were off the road, to be fair.
48:45Minutes later, they get a call on the radio.
48:53Yep, go ahead.
48:57Showing you on A95, could you turn round
48:59and head back up to the car bridge, Johnson?
49:04Our vehicle's broken down for the complete car failure
49:07in a light rain, so there's no hazard lights on.
49:10Yeah, that's all received.
49:19We did pass it and we didn't stop
49:21because to us, when we drove past it,
49:23it looked like it was completely off the road.
49:26We'll turn round and we'll go and speak to the person
49:29and just see what the situation is.
49:31If they don't have power to their vehicle,
49:35then that means no heating as well as no light,
49:38so you definitely don't want to be leaving somebody out there
49:41at zero or sub-zero temperatures for any amount of time.
49:48There he is.
49:50I want to put those on as well.
49:54Completely awesome.
49:56Hello.
50:05How are you?
50:06Hi there.
50:08And it's a complete power failure.
50:10There's no...
50:10Complete power failure.
50:11What happened was it started to make a screechy noise.
50:14I think the fan, something wrong with the fan belt,
50:16and then the battery light came on
50:18and I thought, oh, no, it's going to die, and it did.
50:21It's normally very reliable.
50:22It's never done...
50:23Yeah, no, Jimny's are great.
50:25I love Jimny's.
50:26I'm on a road that's a 60-limit road
50:28in the pitch black sub-zero temperatures.
50:31As much as she was dressed appropriately to go shopping,
50:35she wasn't dressed appropriately to be doing, you know,
50:37any amount of time walking outside
50:38in those types of cold winter conditions.
50:41I thought, do I go to Tesco's looking like this?
50:43I thought, yeah, I'm going to Tesco.
50:44I don't care.
50:46Yeah, we've seen people in onesies going to Tesco.
50:47Yeah, we have seen people in onesies and pyjamas coming out.
50:50Okay, good.
50:51Yes.
50:51That makes me feel a bit better.
50:52If you live in the Highlands, you're living in an isolated community.
50:57So I think people just have that mentality that I've won recovery
51:01for my vehicle that's broken down,
51:02but ultimately it could take an hour or even longer.
51:06You know, I'm not in the middle of the city here.
51:08Thank you for waiting.
51:08We're sending Ross's garage at current ETA's 20-28.
51:11The driver arranges for a recovery truck through her breakdown cover,
51:17but it won't arrive for another two hours.
51:20I guess I'm supposed to stay with the vehicle.
51:23We can stay with the vehicle if you've got the keys.
51:25The cops need to see the car taken off the road,
51:28but encourage her to get a lift home with a friend.
51:31Here we go.
51:33Is this him?
51:34This car is slowing down and indicating.
51:37Good.
51:37Perfect.
51:38Okay, guys.
51:39You've been amazing.
51:40No problem, Nicole.
51:41Take care.
51:41Take care.
51:42And we'll let you know about where the car is going as well, okay?
51:45Okay, thank you.
51:47See you, guys.
51:47See you.
51:49Right, let's get warm.
51:50Let's get warm.
51:52And wait.
51:55Oh, chilly.
51:57Hopefully they come quick.
52:04I hope so.
52:05Because that's, what, two hours.
52:11If you put yourself in the position that that lady was in...
52:16With a junction close to the bend.
52:18No power in her vehicle.
52:21No street lighting.
52:22You wouldn't feel safe.
52:25Yeah, if it was my mum, I wouldn't want her.
52:27Stuck at the side of the road.
52:28In the pitch black.
52:30Sub-zero temperatures.
52:32So, for sure, whatever we can do to help her, I'm more than happy to do so.
52:40After a chilly two-hour wait, help finally arrives.
52:48Hello.
52:49Hello.
52:49How we doing?
52:50Grand, yourself.
52:51Right.
52:52Who's got the key?
52:53I have the key.
52:55Are you?
52:56Yep.
52:56The driver's told them what garage she wants to take them to, so they're going to take it
53:00straight there for it to then get fixed.
53:11Perfect.
53:11Thank you very much.
53:13Yeah, later.
53:14Cheers, buddy.
53:15Happy days.
53:16Lovely.
53:17Job done.
53:17It is cold out there.
53:24It is cold out there.
53:24It does not feel like it should be one degree.
53:33In Shetland, officers have brought a suspected drunk driver back to the station.
53:38Oh, f**k.
53:39Calm down.
53:40Listen.
53:40We don't want anything else.
53:42We don't want anything else here, remember.
53:44As he grows increasingly agitated...
53:47Jump out.
53:47Jump out.
53:48Sergeant David Carmichael does his best to calm him down.
53:51I'm going to release.
53:53And loosen them up a wee bit.
53:54Right.
53:54Just do me a favour, mate.
53:56What's up?
53:56Do me a favour.
53:58Do me a favour and just keep me up warning.
54:01That's not an option for us.
54:02The suspect fears that if convicted, he'll lose his job on a nearby wind farm.
54:08I've got any sight of me, mate.
54:10I've got nothing left.
54:13But he can only be charged with drink driving if he fails a second breath test on a carefully
54:18calibrated device known as an intoximeter.
54:22Listen.
54:23There is people that fail the roadside and pass the intoximeter test.
54:27So we will have a chat once it's done.
54:29All right.
54:30You know how much I've had to drink this evening, I don't.
54:33I had two shandies, mate.
54:35People will try to downplay how much alcohol they've had.
54:39In my experience, it's usually double or treble what they're saying that they've actually had.
54:44It's kind of busted, mate.
54:45I need a f***ing...
54:46Ah!
54:47Fuss things fussed.
54:49He needs to get the shandies out of his system.
54:52Mate, just let me get one hand free.
54:56Many have tried before you and they've all managed to.
54:58Come on.
54:59I cannae do.
54:59Come on, cut it like that.
55:01Stop.
55:01Stop.
55:01Stop.
55:01Okay.
55:05As they book him into custody, the suspect starts to test the officer's patience.
55:11Chill out.
55:11Chill out over here.
55:12Do you wish anyone informed that you're here?
55:16Aye.
55:16Who?
55:18I can't always say my father.
55:19You're...
55:20You can't say obviously because I don't know that.
55:23I understand for you it's not an easy time, right?
55:25But come on.
55:27You cannae be having stuff like that in here.
55:28You cannae be having stuff like that at all.
55:30Just in there.
55:31See that wee red chair?
55:32That's yours.
55:33He has one last chance to prove he is not over the limit.
55:36Do you agree to provide two specimens of breath for analysis?
55:41If no, what is your reason for refusing?
55:45No.
55:46You don't want to provide two specimens?
55:48I'm going to ask you one more time.
55:49If it's a refusal, we're going to arrest you and take you straight through.
55:52We're putting a cell.
55:53Bear in mind if you say no, it's an offence.
55:55You will be arrested for it.
55:56See if I feel it.
55:56Am I going to get arrested anyway?
55:58Yes.
55:59No.
55:59He thought that it would be an easier kind of option for him if he didn't provide
56:07because the courts may well not know at that point what he did have to drink.
56:12But that's not the case.
56:13He may well find out that the reaction that he's going to get from the courts is worse.
56:18I'll vote you yesterday.
56:19Listen, I'm not messing about with you here, mate.
56:21I've been very decent with you so far.
56:23Right then, play the game or don't because I'm not going to do this anywhere with you.
56:27There's no many police officers giving you many chances, son, I'll tell you that.
56:33So you're going to do it, yes?
56:36But as Liam gets the intoxicator ready, he changes his mind again.
56:41You're going to refuse now?
56:42Aye, mate.
56:43All right, listen.
56:45That's a refusal.
56:46Come on.
56:46Let's go.
56:47He now faces a night in the cells.
56:51All right, if you're refusing, that's it.
56:53And serious charges down the line.
56:55We have a driver who is under the influence of alcohol, who no lights on.
57:11We also have, from the public's point of view, the same.
57:15They can't see him.
57:16They're under the influence of alcohol.
57:19He's taking a risk getting into that car.
57:22He could have killed somebody.
57:23He's taking a risk getting into that car.
57:25Oh, my God.
57:55Next time, an alarming discovery in the Cairngorm Mountains.
58:05We've had some contractors who believe they may have come across the remains of a body.
58:11It's a massive stroke of luck. The witness has come close enough to see the remains there.
58:17A raid in freezing Cahes Ness uncovers a tropical menagerie.
58:22I don't even know how to describe it.
58:25And in Inverness, youths run riot.
58:28Hey, stop it!
58:30I don't even know how to describe it.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment