Police showcase their highly-trained pursuit skills when a runaway driver tries to get the better of officers by speeding away from them.
Roads policing constable Phil Broughton was on patrol in an unmarked vehicle when he spotted a silver Mondeo being driven erratically in the Middleton Boulevard area of Nottingham.
After witnessing it travel at 40mph in a 30mph zone, he activated the sirens to direct the driver to stop but instead the vehicle accelerated away.
The incident features on tonight’s action-packed national TV episode of Police Interceptors.
Constable Broughton pursued the car as it reached speeds of up to 100mph along Derby Road. It was then driven through numerous red traffic lights and on the wrong side of the carriageway.
At this point, backup arrives in the form of Constable Jon Lee in another unmarked car along with an officer in a police vehicle. Together the team exercise their specialist driving skills but the offender keeps trying to prevent them from overtaking by driving in the middle of the road and swerving into them, at one point causing damage to the police vehicle.
Trained to be relentless, Constable Lee completes the overtake with the Mondeo ramming into the rear of the vehicle several times at the driver tries to get in front but it instead he loses control and mounts the kerb before colliding with a nearby tree.
PC Lee said: “It’s always dramatic to be at the forefront of a police pursuit but the training takes over which equips you with the knowledge and experience to know how to react.
“Everything does happen very quickly so you do have to think fast. You’re constantly running through risk assessments in your head, so when the car was heading towards the city that’s when you start thinking about the risk to the members of the public and whether you need to bring it to a stop before it gets any closer or even let it go.
“The advanced driving and courses that we do are great and we’re regularly trained and tested to evidence that we can handle these volatile situations.
The incident was brought to a safe conclusion in the Beacon Road area at around 4.30am on 22 July and Evan Pidgeon was arrested at the scene.
The 32-year-old, of Inham Road in Chilwell, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving while disqualified as well as without insurance. He was sentenced to a year in prison and disqualified from driving for two years at Nottingham Crown Court on 18 August 2020.
Constable Lee added: “You do have to have a certain mind set in going after people involved in these jobs. These offenders are the type of people to take ridiculous risks and will go to extreme lengths to avoid being caught but they’re the ones you get the most satisfaction by locking up and putting away. It makes it enjoyable and that’s why I’m drawn to be involved with these jobs.”
PC Lee joined Nottinghamshire Police in 2002 as a response officer in the Wollaton and Canning Circus areas. He then moved to armed response before joining roads policing in 2018.
He is well versed in police pursuits having taken part in almost 50 incidents.
He says he looks forward to watching the Interceptors show with his wife and two children: “I didn’t like watching myself back at first but the kids were so happy and excited it made it more enjoyable and now we all sit down together and watch it most weeks.
“My son, 16, wants to join the police so he really likes seeing what we do and my daughter who’s 11 likes to see dad involved in the action!”
There’ll be more from PC Lee and the rest of the Interceptors crew on tonight’s programme which also features a full firearms response after a member of the public hears gunshots down at a canal. And an Interceptor cameraman finds himself on the receiving end of the action when he’s walloped by a woman acting disorderly at a petrol station.
Catch the full episode tonight at 8pm on My5.
