Yorkshire Ripper

When Sgt. Robert Ring used to patrol the sprawling Wybourne council estate he set some sort of record for spotting disqualified drivers. He never forgot a face. Ten minutes before 11p.m. on the second day of the New Year (1981) Ring, a policeman in Sheffield for 26 years, sat in a South Yorkshire Chevette 'Panda' car and studied the V8 Rover 3500 in the drive of Light Trades House, headquarters of BISPA (British Iron and Steel Producers), off Melbourne Avenue, leafy and dark, perfect for 'business'.

P.C. Robert Hynes was 31, a father of two, although still only a probationer with the force. He had been in less than a year since deciding to leave his job in the engineering industry. It would be good experience for him to go and speak to the young lady in the car and see what her game was. They strolled up to the Rover and tapped on the driver's window. The man with the jet-black beard and wavy, almost crinkly hair, seemed nervous, agitated. His name, he claimed, was Peter Williams, and this was his girlfriend.

By the time that first weekend of the year was over P.C. Hydes and Sgt. Ring were the most famous coppers in the world. The girl in the passenger seat of the Rover was just glad to be alive.