Officers determined to keep the county’s roads safe have been putting the brakes on drunk and dangerous drivers.
The teams’ work can be seen in tonight’s episode of Police Interceptors, which begins with tracking down a man suspected to be armed with a knife.
Police Constables Dan Machin and James Campin were on the case following the reports and officers soon came across a suspect.
Officers attempted to stop the driver, Adam Akhtar, in his Renault Clio as they were driving along Johnson Road, Lenton, but as he failed to stop, officers prepared to bring him a halt.
Following a short pursuit, officers arrested Akhtar and discovered he had a knife in his possession.
Recalling the moment they stopped Akhtar, PC Campin said: “Despite this being a relatively short pursuit, which could be followed from a safe distance, Akhtar could have caused some serious harm with both his driving and the fact he was in possession of a knife.
“Officers did a great job of bringing him to a stop so quickly and seizing his knife. The safety of Nottinghamshire’s public, including road users, is our number one priority as officers and the sooner we were able to stop him the better for everyone.”
Following the incident, at around 2am on Tuesday 20 April 2021, 36-year-old Akhtar, of Hunston Close, Bilborough, was sentenced ten months in prison, suspended for a year. He was also ordered to forfeit the knife recovered and pay £425 in costs. Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court at the end of 2021, he had pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon.
PC Campin added: “The fact that Akhtar was ordered to give up his knife, has to pay hefty costs and now has a sentence lingering over him is a positive result and I really hope this shows the seriousness of his actions.
“It is an offence for a very good reason and we will not stop our work to track down and prosecute those who think it’s okay to carry weapons.”
Meanwhile, the show turns to Sergeant James Carrington in Bestwood tracking down a driver who they believed to be disqualified. As they were scanning the area, they stopped a driver who had just left a local pub. They found the man to be Anthony Starbuck, who also had young family members as passengers in his Renault Megane.
As they made enquiries following the stop at around 9.55pm on Monday 28 June 2021, officers asked Starbuck to do a roadside breathalyser. On blowing a reading of 52 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath, which is over the limit of 35 microgrammes, he was taken to the custody suite and re-tested, getting a reading of 43.
Starbuck, 45, of Bathley Street, the Meadows, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and appearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 14 July 2021, he was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for a year. He was also disqualified from driving for three years and also ordered to pay £85 in costs and a victim surcharge of £128.
Sergeant Carrington said: “The dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be extremely serious, even fatal. Drink-driving comes under the ‘fatal four’ road offences and it is very fortunate that he didn’t cause any injuries.
“After following the car and stopping it, we found that Starbuck was over the limit, and I just can’t understand why anyone would drink and drive, let alone with young children as passengers as well.
“Drink-drivers not only pose a risk to themselves, but also to everyone else who uses the roads – other drivers, pedestrians and passengers to name a few, and we will continue this proactive work shown on tonight’s episode to ensure we keep Nottinghamshire’s roads safe.
“We also always encourage people to contact police if they believe someone is driving under the influence or drugs, and stopping drivers that do this can save lives.”
The stops are just a snapshot of the jam-packed episode, where the knife crime team crack down on fake cash and a small cannabis confession leads to a heavy drugs discovery.
All this and more will be featured on Channel 5 at 8pm.
