Z Cars

A fire that killed an entire family is determined to have been deliberately set. (Part 1 of 2)

A fire has killed the whole Bohn family - and it didn't start accidentally.

While on his beat PC Tate finds the gate of a local timber yard open. Over the pocket radio he informs HQ. From the station Sgt. Lynch warns him: ""A Z-Car is on its way - don't try to earn a medal.""

DCS Miller has forced DI Hudson, under the threat of being sent back to a little desk job at H.Q., to tell him about an armed attempt to 'knock off' a prison van and release its occupant.

The men who patrol their beats in the little Panda cars are not supposed to poach on the preserves of the C.I.D., but that's exactly what Alec May does. It's a case which involves an outbreak of safe-stealing from farms and a deaf and dumb little boy who likes to watch trains. May's own part in the affair looks like having serious consequences for his career.

The Newtown police are baffled by a series of burglaries. The thief's method of entry is undetectable, but the chaos in the houses he visits points to the work of an amateur. DI Todd is baffled and it is DC Kane, working on the case with Sgt. Stone, who stumbles on the crook's ingenious method of entry.

The saint of the title is one Ted Crowther, who lives in a fairly new block of flats known as Concrete Canyon. He has earned his title because of his good works on behalf of the tenants. A little boy, Billy Darby, goes missing from the flats because he believes he is going to lose his pet hamster, as the Council won't allow pets in the flats. Crowther naturally is right there with the police to help look for Billy. But Crowther also runs a Savings Club for the tenants and this attracts the interest of DI Todd.

DI Todd's wallet is stolen and with it goes his warrant card - his means of identification as a Police Officer. The thieves have the chance to work some profitable confidence tricks.

Her love for a man on the run lands a girl in trouble with the law.

Eleven year old Johnny Benson, unhappy at home because of his parents' constant bickering, takes refuge in religion. After being sacked as an altar boy he sets fire to an altar cloth. A visit from Sgt. Stone throws him into a panic and he runs away.

Alec Hughes is a key witness to a bank hold-up for which Chris Morgan is being charged. DI Todd is afraid there may be attempts to intimidate Hughes and so he sends him to stay with Culshaw.

A fifteen year old girl is missing and when PC Culshaw finds her she begs him not to take her home.

A young engaged couple have spent six months decorating and furnishing their new home, when two weeks before their marriage someone breaks in and smashes everything up. They are the latest victims of 'the destructive thief'.

Edna Clayton, who once had a crush on DI Todd and pursued him shamelessly, is brought into Newtown police station charged with being drunk and disorderly. Todd at first takes no notice; he has other things on his mind.

With DI Todd on leave and DC Kane away sick, Sgt. Stone has more than enough to do. And then just to complicate things the A.C.C. decides to arrive at Newtown station two weeks before time for his customary three months' inspection. On top of all this £200 is missing from the safe in the cashier's office of Carters Ltd., and Stone must investigate.

Angry domineering Mrs. Armitage calls at Newtown station to report her window cleaner husband as a missing person. Sgt. Lynch sympathises with Ernie Armitage's decision to 'hop it' and uses it to serve as a warning to PC Newcombe, who seems to be heading at top speed to the altar.

Lynch is having a quiet drink in a pub when he is spotted by Danny Matthews, a villain Lynch helped put away for a long stretch. Matthews is out for revenge. But Lynch suspects him of pulling another job... and the battle of wits begins.

The new Detective Inspector arrives at Newtown and Sgt. Stone is anxious to know the kind of man he is. He soon finds out when on their first meeting DI Witty presents Stone with a rather unexpected task.

Looking into the matter of stolen copper from a building site, Roach and Bannerman meet Billy Alty, the site foreman, who rules his Irish labourers with the law of his own two fists. But the Irish have their own laws too, and trouble is brewing.

Roach and Bannerman are called to a sub-post office where the postmistress, Miss Powell, has been attacked and robbed. Miss Powell describes her attacker, and in particular the blow he dealt her - a kind of karate chop.

Jack Egerton has been stabbed and DI Witty rushes to the hospital in the hope of getting a statement from the man. But Egerton is in a critical condition and Witty has to look elsewhere for the circumstances of the stabbing. And what he finds out is puzzling, to say the least.

Newtown station receives a call from a man who says he has 'put a bomb in'. Sgt. Stone deduces from the man's words that this is not just another hoax and the hunt begins for the man and the bomb, which is due to explode at midnight.

Holiday fortnight for the building trades is coming up. The firms are paying a fortnight's wages and the banks are carrying extra cash. So when well-known criminal Vincent Lewis arrives in Newtown a watch is kept to find out what he's up to.

One of those 'nice quiet nights' at Newtown station and Sgt. Stone is just preparing to leave for home. Then the window of a pet shop is broken and Z-Victor One is called to a domestic disturbance, with a report of shouts and possible screams.

Roach and Bannerman are called to a cinema where a man has been caught trying to steal from a patron's handbag. The man claims he'd dropped his cigarette lighter and was searching for it in the darkness. A poor excuse, maybe, but Roach believes the man.

A shotgun is fired into the air, the action freezing the staff and customers in a sub post office. The postman is the only one to take any action at all, and he suffers from it.

The salesman at Mather's garage is very obliging, so if you want to buy a car there's no need to worry about the full amount of the deposit. But Charlie Dodd worries. He's a mechanic at Mather's.

Bannerman enters for an inter-divisional boxing match and is curious to know why DI Witty begins to take an almost fanatical interest in his training. Then a punch-up of a far more serious nature takes place near Bartley's fairground.

Granny Wendy, an old woman who lives alone, is the victim of what appears to be a domestic accident. But when Roach and Bannerman find the old woman's purse is missing they suspect foul play.

A long distance lorry driver parks overnight in a Newtown car park, leaving a girl hitchhiker sleeping in the cab. Neither of them knows that a robbery is due to take place in the car park that night.

Bannerman, off duty with his girl friend, meets Ted Holmes in a pub. Holmes has some information to sell and wants cash. Bannerman senses the information is good, but is it?

Sgt. Stone sees two youths, Billy and Vic Redmond, trying car door handles in Newtown Centre. Their father is serving time in Walton jail and the two lads look like following in his footsteps. But Stone, as Crime Prevention Officer, decides to take a hand.

Det. Supt. Oakley calls on Sgt. Stone with a request. Oakley is anxious for Stone to nail Timmy Cater, a safe-blower now living on the Newtown patch. Stone has a 'special relationship' with Cater which will make it easier to set Cater up.

Eighteen year old Michael Adams says he was coming home from the pictures when his attacker came up behind him, knocked him unconscious and robbed him. Roach and Bannerman doubt the boy's story, but why should he be lying?

When the money is recovered from a raid on a security van it is placed in a cell in Newtown police station for safe keeping. But how safe is it?

Ron Bailey, a petrol pump attendant at a Newtown garage, is approached by two men who want him to help them rob a safe in the garage office. When DI Witty hears Bailey's story he is inclined to disbelieve it and senses a conspiracy.

Roach and Bannerman are called to investigate a minor theft reported by a lecturer at a Technical College. The lecturer is th guardian of Roger, a fourteen-year-old boy. Roach and Bannerman are required to interview Roger, but the boy is stone deaf.

PC Newcombe, searching for a girl who has been reported missing, learns that she is hiding out in a disused factory. When he gets there he finds more than he bargained for.

Sgt. Lynch is paying a social call on an old friend, a nurse, when a man arrives at the Nursing Home breathless and frightened. He has found the body of a woman in a lay-by.

With only two days to go until Christmas, Bobby Dawson, having returned from carol singing, tells his mother that the man at No. 52 was very generous: he gave Bobby five shillings. But the family at No. 52 have gone away for Christmas....

Two Scotsmen visit Newtown during the New Year celebrations to seek out an old acquaintance of theirs, a fellow villain, who, they believed, helped the police to jail them. When the Newtown police hear they've arrived they prepare themselves for trouble.

On evening patrol Roach and Bannerman are curious about a man sitting alone in a parked car. When questioned the man runs and scales a ten foot wall like an athlete.

After a raid on a cinema a doorman is shot. A reporter from a Sunday newspaper meets Harris, an informer, in a pub. Harris has information about the raid which he will sell if the price is right. He swears he has proof - the best possible kind of proof.

""From what I know of these kids they don't go in for crime as we know it. All they want is excitement through violence. There's nothing for them to do so they make their own amusements, picking on people, six against one.""

""It was Saturday night when he did the break-in. Got in through a lavatory window and tore his sleeve on a nail. Then he hit the watchman. Even if I have to adjourn the Court to the old man's bedside I'll get evidence to break this damned alibi...""

""A man came yesterday. Said he had shared a cell with my husband. Said my Alfie was coming out of prison in the morning. Needed his overcoat. So I gave this man the overcoat and my husband's best suit. I was at the gate this morning. Nobody handed in the clothes and my Alfie's still inside...""

Like all areas Newtown has its share of vandalism. A group of youths - voices - a crash of glass - the sound of footsteps running down the street. But on this night vandalism has extended itself to robbery and physical violence. Three youths are brought in as suspects; one with a difference.

An attack on a courting couple in a lonely place... a man appearing and asking for a light.. a frightened girl running for help. When questioned the couple cannot, or will not, identify their attacker.

Watching... timing... speed... picking the right vehicle... quick disposal. All the ingredients of wholesale car theft, well organised and well executed. Newtown police find that they have such an organisation on their patch.

Special Duty can be easy or hazardous. A man can be a decoy or a sitting duck. He is alone and he cannot easily predict what action will take place. PC Roach realises this when he is assigned to such a duty. And yet he volunteered for the task, was not forced into taking it. But if your face fits...

A constable has been seriously injured. It could be that his career as a policeman is finished. There is an atmosphere in Newtown station and DI Witty is called upon to answer for the incident.

A Dakota aeroplane with 32 passengers aboard is in difficulties. The pilot intends to make an emergency landing and Newtown prepares itself for a major incident.

With new technical resources we are half way to an automated police force, so why not automated thieves as well? Thieves with all the mechanical tricks, one step ahead of the police. The birds of the air - listening in.

Thirty-nine break-ins in five weeks: each one on pay nights at council estates. On paper a serious setback for DI Goss's detection rate, made even more complicated by the most obvious suspect just finishing probation.

Officially a police informant does not exist... information is obtained from the birds. So when a snout stands in danger of reprisals who is to protect him?

Even the best villains have to retire someday. But if, like Dixie Conlan, you don't want to retire, you find an apprentice: someone young and eager enough to follow in your footsteps.

PC Bannerman risks his life trying to save a child, but what kind of mother could invite such a risk in the first place? What kind of mother could leave a child alone in a house with a lighted oil heater?

A man walks into Newtown police station and demands to be given a breathalyser test, but does not appear to be drunk. Why then is he so insistent?

WPC Parkin is an able and efficient officer with a bright career ahead of her. So why should she risk it all by cultivating a close friendship with a known criminal?

Stand as surety for someone and you risk them running away from the law leaving you to forfeit the bail money or go to prison yourself. But a man does not expect this sort of treatment; not from a nephew he believes to be innocent.

It's Sunday and three young tearaways have nothing to do and nowhere to go. But they have a souped-up car and they need their kicks, so if anyone gets in their way...

Sgt. Stone and Ben Stacey have an old score to settle. So why should Stacey now want to help the police?

Some teachers, like policemen, live in a jungle. Civilised men and women, living under pressure. Then something snaps...

The seed of suicide is in all of us. So when an innocent old woman becomes involved with the police and becomes irrational, is this a warning light?

""What sort of life will I have if I stay in Newtown? Wrapping sweets at Brownley's eight hours a day; listening to Radio One; marry some yob and get a council house if I'm lucky. Half a dozen kids in half a dozen years. D'yer call that living?""

Les Mitcham and Phil Andrews are working as painters on a new housing estate. Mitcham, the younger of the men, has served two short terms of imprisonment. Andrews, from the Midlands, is a more experienced criminal. They have planned a job together. As it will be Mitcham's first attempt at big-time crime they require a third man. Mitcham, anxious to ingratiate himself, says he knows someone. When the job has been pulled PC Quilley finds a source of information. ""It's teamwork that gets results,"" says Sgt. Stone. Why, then, is the job taken out of Quilley's hands?

In a major crime every policeman dreams of finding a key witness - but not a witness who is too scared to talk.

If you know the right places and you're the sort of man who needs a gun it is possible to acquire one. They cost money, but when the offer is a fiver down and a percentage of your first job you might be tempted.

Alec Quilley plucks up courage to contact Beth, an old flame, but for her the glow is fading. Chris, her new boy friend and old schoolmate of Quilley's, seems to be living well beyond his apparent means. Protective hackles raised, Quilley's unofficial enquiries about Chris and Goss's investigation of a series of petty thefts and minor break-ins begin to find common ground.

A serious road accident, a child missing, a drunk in the cells who won't come to. At times a police station is like a wartime command post under siege, with even the policemen themselves at breaking point.

Go to your local pub for a quiet drink, chat up the barmaid, take her out and forget about crime for a while. But as Sgt. Stone discovers, a policeman can't avoid crime - it even invades his private life.

Tommy Woods has a way with dogs and a way with women. There's nothing they wouldn't do for him.

Pete Simmonds is out from prison looking for the man who informed on him. But not only the informer has to live in fear of reprisals. Simmonds is strong and violent and the witnesses at his trial were promised police protection on the day of his release.

A gelignite explosion has wrecked an office and probably injured the men responsible - all for the sake of twenty pounds. But where do the police start looking for dangerous amateurs who are prepared to take risks?

What sort of mother abandons her two month old baby in a telephone kiosk?

'He's lived on canal boats all his life. Born on one - never been to school. Not the sort of man one can lock up in a cell.'

No alibi - a criminal record - picked out on an identity parade. Is that proof enough of a man's guilt?

A rock is thrown at a passenger train and the driver is injured. The Transport Union want the police to take some sort of action, but where do the police start looking for teenage vandals?

Sgt. Stone, with Bannerman and Newcombe, goes to the City Airport to investigate a bomb hoax. No bomb is found, but the police discover something else that is just as explosive.

A man and his wife report the theft of a strange assortment of objects from their home, and they want the thief, their son, brought to justice.

Three honest citizens, strangers to each other, decide almost simultaneously to take the town apart. Spontaneous acts, in three separate places, yet all at the same time.

A woman is found dead. The police get a description of the man responsible, then his name, Gleeson - the Crown's principal witness for a similar murder eight years ago.

A quiet sort of Christmas. People on the move, relaxed. Bannerman goes to the theatre, DI Goss to a private do. Sgt. Lynch is on his way home for the holiday. And Buzz Bentley, hard nut from London, has come to Newtown.

A new police constable, Joe Skinner, is assigned to the crime cars. Kardar, a Hungarian and an expert with explosives, has a score to settle with a certain policeman.

DI Bowen, once DI Goss's superior officer, has been accused of discreditable conduct and he wants Goss to help him. But the Newtown force has another problem on its plate - an escaped prisoner armed with a shotgun.

A child is badly injured in a road accident, a job for Traffic, not Crime. But Sgt. Lynch has a personal interest in this particular accident.

With a sharp increase in petty theft having been recorded, Stone and Goss are anxious to get the top man. A policeman with the local nickname 'Mr. Fixit' comes in for heavy scrutiny.

Frank Caunce, crippled by a roof fall during the course of an arrest by Sgt. Stone, has been released from prison. Stone feels that his disability should keep him quiet, but...

A nine year old by is lost on Moor Top while helping his 'uncle' look for strayed sheep. Rough weather, fading light - and another complication perhaps more serious, the boy's 'uncle' himself.

A struck-off doctor cannot prescribe drugs or medicine and cannot sign a death certificate. What would such a doctor do if old friends and sympathisers came to him for help?

There's a lot of old villains in the new flats at Alexander House. On cold nights, with the lifts out of order, they tend to stay in - but not the younger ones. Micky Pye, for instance.

Under the new act couples can marry at eighteen, but there are still strong family traditions. ""Wait till you're twenty-one - key of the door"". But not for Valma Yorke.

There have been two armed wage snatches within a couple of weeks, both of a similar pattern. Police believe it to be the work of one team. But then there is a third robbery, distinctly different from the other two.

""Squirts the window catch with an oil can first, then uses a knife. Vernon's style. One day he'll probably come face to face with a householder - what happens then?""

Helen Carter, a nervous woman, has lived alone for too long. Then she has a 'visitor', a man who stands outside her door each night. While trying to trace the 'visitor' Lynch finds himself involved with the woman herself.

The Brice brothers run Clyde Street. There are frequent beatings-up but no witnesses. Then PC Quilley is invited to a wedding by a member of the Brice fraternity. There is another beating-up at the wedding and Quilley is called before Goss to explain his association with known villains.

A Liverpool City policeman is shot. Newtown police learn that the two men responsible could be heading for their patch, still carrying the gun. The two men are tired, frightened and dangerous.

An old lag agrees to deliver a message on his release from prison. His son is on the run from Borstal and trouble is their way of life.

The 'Stiffs' - Newtown's local soccer team - have relegation problems. The last thing they need is malicious attacks from the public. The latest act of wilful damage leaves the police wondering. There are plenty of suspects and plenty of motives, but is that enough?

Johnny Marsh is an isolated teenager: he thinks alone, thinks of the past. A little thing, and something snaps. His obsession leads him into crime and violence. The police have to trace that obsession - back into the past.

Two young brothers are drowned in a canal. Newcombe, Quilley and Skinner are there on a night out. Like others they want to forget their job for a while, but the evening has gone sour.

Stolen goods which have disappeared; a search warrant that is useless. The villains are laughing at Newtown police - they have an informer within the ranks of the Law. Supt. Oakley suspects a member of the Newtown force.

Money is missing in a shop. Nield is pushed for cash and he's an ex-convict.

June Frazer is brought in for theft; her father is brought in for drunkenness and the police find a frightened woman.

Bernard Spencer enjoys newspaper publicity of his crimes, but what lengths will he go to to obtain such publicity? He is staying at the Orchard Hotel. And members of the police force are there too - on unofficial business.

An old woman is attacked and robbed and there seem to be no witnesses. Only Pearson was in a position to see anything, but there is something strange about him.

Church doors are open to everyone. Solace is always available - but church property isn't. The police are seeking a thief with a grudge - against religion.

A car crashes on the motorway but this is no ordinary accident. Goss thinks he is chasing someone who is lonely, brooding and probably violent. Maybe even a nutcase.

A load of railway telephone wire is 'knocked off' Newtown's scrap metal merchants are questioned and something is revealed. A bobby is taking bribes.

John Meaker reports his wife missing. Because of the disturbing circumstances the search is not an easy one.

The Ramp is a wasteland - it is a dangerous area to be in at night alone. Doc is a native of The Ramp, and by helping the police has put himself in immediate danger.

Saturday afternoon is a time for football and weddings. People are expecting a good match. But not everyone IS a good match.

Brian Bennett talks about someone called Sylvia. He implies something might have happened to the girl. Although they have no evidence that the girl ever existed the police mount a search for Sylvia.

Brian Bennett talks about someone called Sylvia. He implies something terrible might have happened to the girl. Although they have no evidence that the girl ever existed the police mount a search for Sylvia.

Sheila Ashton has a neat line in petty thefts. She also has a partner in crime - a twelve year old child.

Roy and Mary Chadwick are looking for people who can be persuaded to part with their money. And they've found an ideal victim.

Raymond Pritchard doesn't have much to say for himself. Maybe he's got something to hide. Skinner has a lot of questions for Pritchard - and he wants a few answers.

Gerald has been discharged from a mental hospital after thirty years and he has a record of violence. Now two men have been attacked.

Frank Livesey is an ex-prisoner who is getting on a bit. And easy money is hard to come by when you're nearly past it.

A circus comes to Newtown. It attracts the public - and trouble.

A clown is supposed to make children laugh, but he doesn't have to like them. But can you have a circus without one of the clowns?

Joe Hart's out of the spotlight now, but some people still remember him. Others would sooner forget.

A man has been given a day's unescorted parole from prison. But that was a year ago and he hasn't been seen since. To Goss and Stone falls the task of searching for him.

Never stick your neck out, that's good advice. But what do you do if you suspect someone - look the other way? Alec Quilley gets tired of having mud slung and takes some action of his own.

Bert Lynch tries to help Dixie Conlan's widow to go on living. Jack Streeter's no good for her and Lynch knows it. But does Maggie?

John Glass has returned to the North for more than just a 'quiet life'. And Inspector Goss knows it. As events come to a head Goss decides to keep Glass at the station to stew for a while.

There's one born every minute! And nobody knows that better than the tallyman. Billy and Moira intend to stay in Newtown, but Sgt. Lynch has other ideas.

Teenagers need adventure and a change of scene just as much as adults. But the adventure turns sour for Anne as she realises that it isn't a game.

Some people take Christmas very very seriously. They steal twice as much. Bert Lynch is a victim - for the second time.

Quilley and a milk float... Bagpipes... A hangover... A baby.

Detective Sergeant Bickford infiltrates a gang of villains and gets a job—as a murderer. (Part 2 of 2)

Charles Warren doesn't care how he gets people away from his property. But if he breaks the law... At the station they are far too busy to worry about the promotion rumours that are going round.

A promotion cause commotion in Newtown...

Night duty... Newcombe and Skinner... Promotion... and trouble. Then the promotion comes out in orders and Newtown loses a policeman.

A new Detective-Sergeant and Stone's old undetected crime. Something to be uncovered. A vehicle again waits near the by-pass for a victim. Another victim just waits.

Roy Gannon's out of prison and he's making for Newtown. His ex-wife's there - and so is Skinner

Newtown gets a new policeman and an unusual do-it-yourself expert. Mrs. Manley gets a shock, and so does Inspector Goss when he reconstructs the crime.

""There's a sinister feller in a mac outside my flat,"" came the call. Another villain in Newtown? Maureen's heading straight for trouble and Lionel's not far behind.

PC Covill's in dead trouble. He doesn't realise how much until Z-Victor One is involved in a car chase. A man with a record of violence comes the the station to report a murder.

A cafe and someone waiting, wearing a stocking mask and carrying a a gun. Two suspects, two detectives and a tough interrogation. But then there is another hold-up.

And then there's the one about the commercial traveller, who works when everyone else has gone to bed...

Perjury and corruption in the police force. Sgt. Stone talks about blackmail to Rachel, to Lil and to Superintendent Khan.

""The word may go round that the police aren't hard on this patch. They need to be shown that we are"".

Quiet Mr. Potter's wife and daughter have disappeared.

A lad walks into Newtown police station. A scared lad, who has information. So Sgt. Stone goes visiting.

Skinner meets two women. He helps them for different reasons.

Patten has a record. He takes what he wants, and if someone gets in the way... So Patten goes to this club. Smedley goes to hospital. So Sgt. Stone goes after Patten.

Gold! Mention it and their eyes go green with envy. Offer it and you get clutching hands.

A man is brought in for something petty, but he refuses to speak. Is he covering up for something bigger? Then another man is brought in.

For the 'mobile' police everything and anything can happen on a tour of duty. And it does!

Do 'holidays in the sun' link a toaster sold in a pub and a woman losing her cheque book?

Alec Quilley's girl friend drives a taxi at night - when there are some dodgy people about.

A man quietly enjoying the local playground; a crowd noisily enjoying the local pub. Elsewhere work and much activity - police activity.