Motorway Cops

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.