Motorway Cops

The police officers who patrol Britain's motorways are under pressure like never before. The number of cars and lorries using our congested roads grows every year but, across the country, the number of cops who patrol the motorways has been cut.

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.

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".

The Motorway Cops come face-to-face with their worst nightmare as they are called to detain two women who are caught walking on the M6 motorway. As the PCs arrive the women make a run for it, into the path of a 44 tonne lorry. The accident forces a total closure of the M6 leaving motorists stranded in a 15 mile traffic jam and the cops locked in a life or death battle to save the injured women.

On the motorway, a moment's lapse of concentration can have devastating consequences and when a lorry is involved the results can be catastrophic. The Motorway Cops are called to an accident involving a 44 tonne lorry, causing traffic chaos and leaving three dead and many more injured.

PCs Griffiths and Toal are involved in a high-speed chase which takes them into Birmingham city centre, and PC Richard Elliot is called to a lorry park off the M6 where a gang has been disturbed while attempting to steal the load from the back of a lorry. Also, more than 20 motorway cops, a dog team and the West Midlands Police helicopter are involved in an operation to stop a gang involved in a cash-in-transit robbery.

Amid icy conditions, the Motorway Cops are forced to close the motorway.

The motorway cops are faced with organised criminal gangs from overseas who use Britain's motorways to travel up and down the country, from city to city, stealing to order. The problem is that, when the police stop them, the criminals claim not to understand a word of English, making the investigation tougher than ever.

The motorway cops crack down on truckers who fail to pay attention to the road ahead.

The Motorway Cops catch up with the drivers who try to cheat the system, taking chances even though that may mean putting other people's lives at risk - and they find that the drivers who do this are often those they come across time and time again.

The Motorway Cops are involved in several high-speed pursuits and call on the assistance of the police helicopter, Alpha Oscar One, to help them track down stolen cars and drug dealers.

The motorway cops don't just have to find and arrest those they suspect of breaking the law, they also have to gather enough evidence as proof. But all too often the evidence they hope to rely on just isn't there, and it is one man's word against another's.

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.

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.

Being a motorway cop means having to listen to every excuse in the book: sometimes they're ridiculous and unbelievable, while other times it's down to the skill and experience of the cops to work out fact from fiction.

Officers from West Yorkshire attend a serious head-on crash in Bradford.

Sometimes being in the right place at the right time can lead to some surprising results.

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 Alderson and Infield find a rider being treated in an ambulance and a driver missing.

A father and his two-year-old daughter break down in a live lane of the motorway.